The Riyadh tech ecosystem, in one place

It helps to read the ecosystem in layers rather than as one long list.

The flagship anchor is LEAP, founded in 2022 by MCIT, SAFCSP and Tahaluf. It sets the rhythm of the year, and a lot of the calendar is arranged around it.

Around LEAP sit the co-located events: DeepFest, the AI track run with SDAIA, and Money20/20 Middle East, the fintech gathering run with Fintech Saudi. They share the week and much of the audience, but they are their own things.

Then there is the builder layer — Techstars Startup Weekend Riyadh with The Garage, and the hackathons that come with it. This is where people make something rather than watch a keynote.

And underneath all of it is the informal layer: Riyadh Tech Nights and gatherings like it, which run all year and rarely get written down anywhere.

This site tries to hold all four layers together. If you run an event, submit it. If you're building a company here, add it to the directory.