From Code to Country: Global AI Show Riyadh 2026 Ignites the Era of Agentic AI and Nation-Building

The Global AI Show Riyadh, held on 29–30 June 2026, drew more than 15,000 registrations and welcomed 6,723 attendees to a two‑day summit co‑located with the Global Blockchain Show Riyadh and Global Games Show Riyadh. Organized by VAP Group and powered by Times Of AI, the event featured 100+ global speakers, 100 exhibitors, and a delegation that was 70% CXO‑level representing 80+ countries. The summit was positioned as a decisive moment in the Kingdom’s newly designated "Year of Artificial Intelligence," marking a shift from experimental pilots to centralized, nation‑scale AI deployment.

“The AI era is reshaping venture capital. Today’s founders need more than funding, they need access to infrastructure, strategic partnerships and global networks that help them move from breakthrough ideas to scalable businesses faster than ever before!” said Michael Lints, Founding Partner MENA, Golden Gate Ventures.

The show’s agenda emphasized actionable outcomes across government and industry. Keynote speakers framed the conversation around data quality, governance and workforce transformation: Dr. Mohammed Nasser Alshahrani, Executive Advisor to the Minister, Council of Economic and Development Affairs, opened the summit stressing that data quality will define winners in the AI era and underlined the need for trustworthy, transparent systems. Day two began with Nezar Al Turki, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of National Guard, outlining the shift from digital transformation to “AI transformation” and the leadership, governance and workforce foundations required to scale AI‑driven enterprises.

Program highlights and initiatives

Organizers presented a Human‑AI Interaction framework with keynote tracks on workforce planning, AI‑driven recruitment and upskilling to prepare Saudi talent to manage autonomous digital agents. The summit explored agentic AI, sovereign AI infrastructure, enterprise AI transformation, responsible governance, AI‑powered healthcare, financial services innovation, cybersecurity and human‑AI collaboration.

• VAP Group announced VAP Ventures, a strategic initiative to back 100 startups by 2030 aimed at accelerating global innovation and scaling early‑stage companies.
• Panels and sessions involved founders, policymakers, investors and enterprise leaders from more than 80 countries to discuss sovereign AI ecosystems and large‑scale deployment.
• Notable speakers included Dr. Ibraheem Sheerah (Saudi Arabian Airlines Holding), Eng. Layla AlSalehi (Ministry of Health), Paul Pacifico (Saudi Music Commission), Nate Busa (NEOM), Amal Dokhan (500 Global MENA) and Ayman Alhabib (D360 Bank).

The exhibition floor showcased a wide range of vendors and solutions—enterprise AI platforms, cybersecurity, HR tech, observability and autonomous systems—with exhibitors such as Zen HR, Netskope, Magna AI, NTT Data, Dynatrace, Scale AI and Spark.ai. Organizers said the expo fostered partnerships, investment conversations and demonstrations of real‑world applications across sectors.

Event leaders presented the Global AI Show as more than a conference. “What we’ve built with the Global AI Show goes far beyond a conference into a catalyst for global innovation. Seeing thousands of innovators, decision‑makers, and entrepreneurs come together in Riyadh has been incredibly inspiring,” the organisers said, framing the summit as a platform to link emerging technologies with large‑scale public and private deployments.

Looking ahead, the summit signalled momentum toward integrating AI into national infrastructure and enterprise operations. With VAP Ventures’ target to back 100 startups by 2030 and continued emphasis on workforce readiness and governance, Riyadh aims to cement a pipeline from research and startups to sovereign, scalable AI systems across government and industry.