RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, August 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ —
Riyadh transforms into the worldwide hub for sovereign wealth, venture capital, and technology as LEAP bridges the globe’s premier investors with founders and innovation that is ready for the market.
LEAP makes its fifth appearance in Riyadh from 31 August to 3 September, featuring over 1,000 investors hailing from more than 900 firms, collectively managing USD 14.3 trillion in assets under management who have confirmed their attendance. This underscores Riyadh’s escalating status as a premier global destination for tech investment. LEAP 2025 recorded USD 14.9 billion in investment pledges. Now in its fifth year, LEAP is transforming from a mere innovation showcase into a platform designed to pair capital with companies poised for growth, offering a program that unites investors, founders, and market-ready ventures.
Capital strategy is the core focus of LEAP 2026. In addition to the Investor Stage, scheduled one-on-one meetings will directly link startups with investors, supported by a broader matchmaking initiative for fund managers, capital providers, exhibitors, and VIPs. AI-powered matchmaking via the LEAP app will further assist participants in discovering and connecting with relevant investors, founders, and businesses throughout the event.
The program goes beyond direct investor matching. Ecosystem Xchange concentrates on market access, investment preparedness, soft-landing support, and cross-border collaboration through partner-led workshops, startup pitches, and ecosystem showcases. LEAP Connect offers a specialized networking space for investors, founders, and industry leaders to cultivate relationships beyond scheduled sessions, while Rocket Fuel links chosen startups with venture capital firms, institutional investors, and strategic partners.
Prominent Saudi and international investors confirmed to attend include Public Investment Fund (PIF), General Atlantic, HUMAIN, Aramco Ventures, Merak Capital, Impact46, 500 Global, Sanabil Investments, Raed Ventures, J.P. Morgan, STV, Gobi Partners, Morgan Stanley and MSA Capital, among others.
Mazin Alzaidi, General Partner at STV, stated: “LEAP has grown into a very important platform for uniting the founders, investors, and industry leaders who are defining technology’s future. As AI reshapes industries around the globe, the capacity to connect ambitious entrepreneurs with seasoned investors and strategic partners has never been more essential. The concentration of innovation, capital, and global expertise at LEAP highlights Saudi Arabia’s expanding role as a destination for technology investment and sustained growth.”
Rocket Fuel, LEAP’s flagship startup competition, has become a springboard for high-growth startups entering Saudi Arabia, linking founders with investors, customers, government bodies, and strategic partners. Selected from over 3,000 applications worldwide, 100 startups representing more than 40 nationalities across 12 sectors and over 60 subsectors will present live for USD 1 million in equity-free funding. Participating companies include Think AI, Zinki AI, Annot8, EleeN, Uvera, RightNowAI, DuoKey and AtomicaAI.
LEAP’s influence continues after the event concludes. Saudi startup Ejari first made a connection with an investor at LEAP 2023, later securing a USD 400,000 investment that accelerated its expansion throughout Saudi Arabia. Returning to LEAP 2026, the company illustrates how relationships formed at the event can translate into investment and sustained commercial growth.
Annabelle Mander, Executive Vice-President and Co-Creator of LEAP, commented: “When LEAP launched five years ago, our goal was to build more than just a technology event. We aimed to create a platform where the people shaping technology’s future could come together to generate lasting impact. Today, LEAP has become a place where ideas attract investment, partnerships drive innovation, and emerging technologies grow into real businesses. That is what sets LEAP apart, and that is the future we continue to build.”
For ticket information and additional program details, please visit onegiantleap.com.
ENDS
About LEAP:
Saudi Arabia’s ambition to reach beyond the realm of the possible provides the ultimate setting for LEAP.
LEAP presents the Kingdom’s technological ambition on a global stage as it continues to evolve as a hub connecting three continents. The numbers speak for themselves: LEAP 2025 drew over 200,000 attendees, making it the world’s most attended tech event. LEAP features the inspiring technology of tomorrow across all major sectors, including health, finance, energy, education, digital entertainment, transport, smart cities, and more. The event is also led by a faculty of globally celebrated technology innovators, focusing on the most innovative tech case studies from around the world.
LEAP is unlike any other tech event—from the ground up, the community, stakeholders, and project team are challenged daily to do something wildly creative and bold, something that reflects the seismic advances in tech adoption taking place in Saudi Arabia.
About Tahaluf:
Headquartered in Riyadh, Tahaluf gathers strategically important commercial communities from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the wider Gulf region, and around the world into a portfolio of world-class exhibitions and digital platforms.
Tahaluf is a joint venture partnership between Informa PLC, the world’s largest trade show organiser, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and Events Investment Fund (EIF). Sela, the Saudi-owned event production company renowned for creating spectacular event experiences, intends to join the joint venture in the near future.
Tahaluf is responsible for the award-winning tech events LEAP, DeepFest and LEAP East, as well as Money 20/20 Middle East, the Global Health Exhibition, Cityscape Global, Black Hat MEA and CPHI Middle East.
For more information about Tahaluf, visit https://tahaluf.com
Lama Alqasem
Tahaluf
+966 57 359 2514
lama.alqasem@tahaluf.com
