How LEAP 2025 raised the game this year
Basma Dawwas, director of strategic programs, conferences, and content strategy at Tahaluf, shares insights into the new segments debuting at LEAP 2025, including the event's expanded focus on sportstech. She also offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to manage one of the region's largest tech events.
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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.
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
Campaign ME
15-04-2025
- Campaign ME
Who ranked as the top advertisers in KSA for march 2025?
In March, Vimto, Mobily, and Zain emerged as the top advertisers in Saudi Arabia (KSA), each recording significant increases in Ad Awareness, according to YouGov BrandIndex. YouGov Brand Index tracks data on thousands of brands daily. A brand's Ad Awareness score is based on the question: 'Which of the following consumer brands have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?' This metric reflects the percentage of consumers who recall seeing an advertisement for a brand within that timeframe. The data is drawn from surveys of adults aged 18 and over living in Saudi Arabia, conducted between February 26 and March 25, 2025. Scores are calculated using a four-week moving average, with changes determined by the difference between each brand's highest and lowest daily scores during the period. Vimto, Mobily, and Zain posted the largest gains in Ad Awareness in the Kingdom from February to March 2025. Vimto led the way, with its Ad Awareness score rising from 22.9 per cent on February 28 to 31.3 per cent on March 19, marking an 8.4 percentage point increase. This notable boost is likely tied to Vimto's deep-rooted connection with the Ramadan season, when it becomes a household staple across the region. This boost is likely tied to Vimto's longstanding association with the Ramadan season – becoming a household staple for the holy month across the region. Mobily followed closely, gaining 7.3 per cent points – from 27.2 per cent on February 26 to 34.5 per cent on March 23. The brand's increased visibility may be attributed to its prominent presence at LEAP 2025, a major technology event held in Riyadh from February 9 to 12. During the event, Mobily showcased cutting-edge digital solutions aimed at enhancing quality of life and driving smart city innovation, aligning with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. Zain rounded out the top three with a 6.8 point increase in Ad Awareness, rising from 18.8 per cent on March 7 to 25.6 per cent on March 25. The uplift is likely linked to Zain's March 4 announcement of completing a major digital transformation initiative in collaboration with Netcracker Technology, reinforcing its image as a tech-forward telecom provider. To conclude the data highlights how seasonal timing, event presence, and major announcements can influence consumer recall in Saudi Arabia.
