Tahaluf's meteoric rise: The force behind LEAP's game-changing success in Saudi Arabia
Tahaluf CEO Mike Champion shares how his company has transformed the global events landscape, skyrocketing Riyadh's LEAP 2025 into one of the world's most attended tech events. From attracting $5tn in investment for startups to hosting tech icons and football legends, Champion explains how Tahaluf is reshaping Saudi Arabia's events industry at record speed.
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Zawya
01-05-2025
- Zawya
Qualcomm, Aramco, and Saudi Arabia's RDIA announce startups selected for DISAI accelerator program
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Qualcomm, through its subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies International, Inc., Aramco, through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company B.V., together with Saudi Arabia's Research, Development, and Innovation Authority (RDIA) today announced the startups selected to participate in the inaugural 'Design in Saudi Arabia with AI' (DISAI) accelerator program. DISAI is a collaborative effort between Qualcomm, Aramco, and RDIA, launched at LEAP 2025 to empower early-stage startups in AI, IoT, and wireless technologies. The program underscores Qualcomm's commitment to fostering technological advancement and digital transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This initiative aims to enhance the Kingdom's technology innovation ecosystem by helping to nurture early-stage startups by providing intellectual property training and guiding them from product design and development through commercialization. The selected participants will gain access to Qualcomm Technologies' mentorship, Aramco's industrial experience, and RDIA's strategic guidance. The six selected startups, listed alphabetically, are: Agile Loop: AI-driven integration of user and enterprise workflows with IoT devices using agentic edge AI. Manyface: Predictive maintenance, sensor monitoring, and processing for oil and gas wells using edge AI. Mobisense: Real-time speech-to-text transcription and LLM-based summarization, categorization, and responsiveness embedded in 5G networks, ensuring data privacy. Orbital Universe: Carbon sequestration monitoring in Saudi Arabian mangrove plantations using edge AI, IoT sensors, and space imaging data. Pix Convey: Modular AGV chassis with intelligent map-less navigation for diverse applications, including passenger transportation and logistics. Thakaa Med: Advanced diagnostic and treatment solutions using edge AI to enhance workflows and optimize operations for healthcare institutions. "As someone new to the Kingdom, I am genuinely impressed by the talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and ingenuity represented by the inaugural DISAI cohort members,' said Sudeepto Roy, Qualcomm Incorporated Vice President, Engineering. 'Their innovative approaches in the industrial, healthcare, and sustainability sectors, along with advanced 5G connectivity, edge AI, and IoT integration, are truly world class. The high quality of submissions was such that we decided to mentor six startups instead of the originally planned five. Qualcomm is honored to be part of their journey and eagerly anticipates their future successes." "Qualcomm is proud to use its world-leading expertise and partner with Aramco and RDIA on the first national run of this critical program," said Sami A. Ajmi, Aramco Acting Senior Vice President of Digital & Information Technology. "Through our Saudi Accelerated Innovation Lab (SAIL), we are dedicated to the pursuit of fostering digital transformation and industrial innovation in the Kingdom. The DISAI program exemplifies our continued dedication to supporting Saudi entrepreneurs and helping the Kingdom become one of the premier global destinations for tech innovation. We are excited to see the bleeding edge solutions these startups will develop by harnessing the limitless potential of advanced AI, IoT, and digital technologies to make a positive impact in the Kingdom and beyond." "RDIA is dedicated to empowering Saudi Arabia's talented minds and fostering a culture of innovation,' said Dr. Mohammed Alotaibi, RDIA Acting Head. 'The DISAI program highlights the strong talent and forward-thinking approaches of our inaugural cohort. Their work in the industrial, healthcare, and sustainability sectors, enhanced by advanced technologies, shows their potential to drive significant change. We are proud to support these innovators as they pave the way for a prosperous future that is aligned with Saudi Vision 2030. " The DISAI program's incubation period will run from April until November 2025, with the shortlisted startups participating in a finale event, during which they will demonstrate their products and services. Throughout the program, the startups will receive guidance from Qualcomm and Aramco's experts, receive patent training, get to experience Qualcomm Technologies' leading advanced AI technologies, and have the opportunity to connect with potential investors and partners. About Qualcomm Qualcomm relentlessly innovates to deliver intelligent computing everywhere, helping the world tackle some of its most important challenges. Building on our 40 years of technology leadership in creating era-defining breakthroughs, we deliver a broad portfolio of solutions built with our leading-edge AI, high-performance, low-power computing, and unrivaled connectivity. Our Snapdragon® platforms power extraordinary consumer experiences, and our Qualcomm Dragonwing™ products empower businesses and industries to scale to new heights. Together with our ecosystem partners, we enable next-generation digital transformation to enrich lives, improve businesses, and advance societies. At Qualcomm, we are engineering human progress. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering and research and development functions and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business. Snapdragon and Qualcomm-branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patents are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated. About the Research, Development, and Innovation Authority The Research, Development, and Innovation Authority seeks to enhance collaboration among the public, private, and academic sectors and provide advanced infrastructure and facilities dedicated to entrepreneurs and innovative startups. This contributes to developing local investments and attracting international partnerships, in addition to providing financing opportunities, guidance, and capacity development, which in turn drives economic growth.
Arabian Post
25-04-2025
- Arabian Post
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Leading Venture Capital Hub in Emerging Markets
Saudi Arabia has surpassed Singapore to become the top destination for venture capital funding among emerging markets, securing $391 million in the first quarter of 2025. This 53 percent year-on-year increase positions the Kingdom ahead of regions including the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Southeast Asia, according to data from venture analytics platform MAGNiTT. The Kingdom accounted for 58 percent of all venture funding in the Middle East and North Africa region during this period, with 41 percent of the total transactions. This performance reflects a significant shift in investor confidence, driven by a combination of strategic government initiatives, active sovereign wealth fund participation, and a focus on early-stage investments. Notably, there was an 87 percent year-on-year increase in non-mega deal funding and a 437 percent rise in Series A and B rounds. Key transactions included $28 million raises by and Merit Incentives, indicating robust support for startups at critical growth stages. The broader MENA region also experienced a resurgence in venture capital activity, with total funding reaching $678 million in the first quarter—a 58 percent increase compared to the same period last year. This growth occurred despite a 21 percent decline in the number of deals, which totaled 133 transactions. The uptick is attributed to improved investor sentiment following interest rate cuts across the Gulf in late 2024, as well as sustained activity from sovereign funds and flagship ecosystem initiatives like LEAP 2025.
Zawya
22-04-2025
- Zawya
Nokia and TAWAL enable multi-tenant Open RAN to accelerate digital services in Saudi Arabia
Operators lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and speed roll-outs by sharing TAWAL's neutral-host Open RAN edge cloud Nokia's anyRAN solution, anchored by our high-performance 5G AirScale Indoor Radios and deployed on Dell PowerEdge XR8000 edge servers, delivers carrier grade capacity with the openness and flexibility operators need to scale Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Nokia and Saudi neutral-host provider TAWAL have completed the world's first live demonstration of a multi-tenant, shareable Open RAN edge-cloud platform, allowing mobile operators and large enterprises to launch high-performance 5G services at significantly lower costs than previous possible. The showcase proves how TAWAL can offer active infrastructure as a service while operators enjoy significant savings and futureproof their networks with open, cloud native flexibility. Nokia's anyRAN architecture uniquely delivers the trusted performance required to run anyRAN workloads on an open edge cloud. Across Saudi Arabia, demand for widespread 5G connectivity is soaring as smart city giga projects gather pace. Yet traditional single operator rollouts risk duplicating infrastructure, driving up capex and delaying service availability. By adopting a neutral host model, TAWAL can pool spectrum agnostic, Open RAN baseband and radio assets so multiple service providers share the same edge cloud platform, reducing energy consumption, freeing spectrum and shrinking the digital divide for businesses and communities nationwide. Nokia's anyRAN solution, built on open interfaces, cloud agnostic software and high performance AirScale radios, is designed precisely to unlock these efficiencies. Abdulrahman Al Moaiqel, Chief Commercial Officer at TAWAL, said: 'Neutral hosts must add value beyond steel and concrete. By partnering with Nokia, we can offer Saudi operators an on demand, pay as you grow 5G platform that cuts their TCO and accelerates digital transformation for the Kingdom's giga projects.' Mikko Lavanti, Senior Vice President, Middle East and Africa at Nokia, said: 'Moving from a tower company model to a fully-fledged network company demands technology that combines openness with proven performance. Our anyRAN approach lets TAWAL mix and match vendors at the cloud layer while still guaranteeing the ultrareliable, low latency experience operators and end users expect.' During the live demonstration at LEAP 2025 in Riyadh, Nokia 5G AirScale Indoor Radios were connected to Dell PowerEdge XR8000 servers hosting virtualized CU/DU software in Nokia's anyRAN framework. The open, cloud‑native platform supports multi‑operator RAN sharing and can host third‑party RAN software, giving TAWAL full vendor flexibility while maintaining carrier‑grade performance. The solution's compact footprint and reduced power draw make it ideal for smart‑city edge nodes and enterprise campuses. About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation. With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. Media Inquiries Nokia Communications, Corporate Email: Follow us on social media LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube
