Saudi Arabia's tech market hits SAR 91B in 2023: CST

Saudi Arabia’s technology market reached SAR 91 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 11% over the past five years, the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission (CST) said.

The number of Tadawul-listed technology companies rose to 20, with market capitalization exceeding SAR 148 billion, the CST said in a statement at the conclusion of the Digital Technology Forum 2024 today, Oct. 10.

The CST also noted that the Kingdom took first place in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in venture capital financing.

The commission holds the Digital Technology Forum annually in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, to keep pace with the latest developments and updates in the technology sector. The forum tackled, through four seminars and four presentations, the key opportunities and tools for integration in the Kingdom's technology sector.

The CST said last April that technology spending is projected to reach $18.4 billion in 2024, with government expenditure on artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, cybersecurity, and big data analytics expected to surpass $752 million by year-end, data available to Argaam showed.