Zentavor at LEAP x DeepFest 2026: Four Days of AI, Business and New Opportunities in Saudi Arabia

Four Days in Riyadh

LEAP x DeepFest 2026 was Zentavor’s first time participating in one of Saudi Arabia’s major technology and AI events and it gave us much more than a packed schedule of meetings.

We came to Riyadh with a large cross-functional team, including our Chief Operating Officer, Business Development Director, CTO for AI implementation, technical specialists and business analysts.

This was important because AI projects rarely begin and end with technology. A useful conversation usually starts with a business problem, continues with an assessment of processes and data and only then moves to architecture and implementation.

Over four intensive days, our team held dozens of meetings and consultations with companies, partners and technology professionals. We discussed current business challenges, explored potential AI use cases and assessed where AI could realistically create measurable value.

Saudi Arabia Is Moving From AI Interest to AI Execution

One of our strongest impressions from the event was the pace at which the Saudi market is developing. AI is increasingly being discussed not as an experimental technology, but as a practical tool for improving business performance.

Many of the companies we spoke with were already looking beyond the question of what AI can do. Their focus was much more specific: where should we implement it first, what process can be improved, how difficult will integration be and what economic effect can we expect? That shift matters.

There is a major difference between testing an AI tool and introducing AI into a real business process. Production systems have to work with existing infrastructure, company data, security requirements and actual users. They also need clear metrics that show whether the investment is producing results. This is where we see some of the most interesting opportunities in Saudi Arabia today.

Conversations at the Zentavor Stand

Zentavor was represented in the AI exhibition area with a large stand that became our main meeting point throughout the conference. Some discussions started as short introductions and quickly developed into working sessions.

Instead of immediately proposing a particular technology, we often began with the business itself: where employees spend too much time, which processes are difficult to scale, where customers experience delays, what information is difficult to process and where existing IT systems create bottlenecks. From there, our business analysts and technical specialists could assess potential AI use cases together with the client.

In several meetings, we carried out initial assessments of companies’ AI potential: looking at business impact, available data, integration requirements, technical complexity and possible implementation scenarios. This reflects an important principle in our work:

The right starting point is identifying an area where technology can produce enough business value to justify implementation.

What Companies Are Looking For

The use cases discussed during the conference varied significantly. Some companies were interested in automating customer communication and improving service quality. Others were exploring internal knowledge systems, document processing, analytics, IT process automation and decision-support tools. But one theme appeared repeatedly: companies want to understand what will change after implementation.

Will employees spend less time on repetitive work? Can customers receive answers faster? Can teams process more requests without proportional growth in headcount? Can management make decisions using information that is currently difficult to collect or analyze?

These are the questions that turn an AI initiative into a business project. Technology choices matter, but they come later. The strongest projects usually start with a problem worth solving and a clear understanding of how success will be measured.

More Than Networking

Networking was naturally an important part of LEAP x DeepFest. We met potential clients and partners, discussed possible areas of cooperation and started conversations that are continuing after the event.

But just as valuable was the opportunity to listen. Our team attended talks, explored solutions presented by other companies and followed discussions around enterprise AI, implementation challenges and emerging use cases. This is especially important in a market that is developing as quickly as AI.

Client expectations are becoming more sophisticated. Companies are asking more detailed questions about security, data, integration, infrastructure, scalability and ROI. For an AI development company, staying close to these conversations is essential. We came to Riyadh to share our experience, but also to learn from the market.

From AI Pilots to Real Business Systems

Another clear takeaway from the conference was the growing focus on implementation. Creating an AI prototype has become significantly easier. Turning that prototype into a reliable system that employees or customers can use every day is still much harder.

Production AI has to connect to real systems, work with real company data, handle exceptions and operate reliably within existing business processes. This is where Zentavor focuses much of its work.

We are interested in AI solutions that move beyond demonstrations and become part of how a company actually operates with measurable effects on efficiency, revenue, customer experience or decision-making. LEAP x DeepFest confirmed that more companies are now looking for that.

What Comes Next

For Zentavor, our first LEAP x DeepFest was an important step in developing our presence in Saudi Arabia. The four days in Riyadh gave us new relationships, potential projects and a much deeper understanding of the market.

They also confirmed that there are two clear types of demand. Some companies already know what they want to build and need an experienced team to take the project from requirements to implementation. Others know that AI can create opportunities for their business but still need to determine where to start. For them, the first step is an assessment of processes, potential use cases, expected business impact and implementation complexity.

Both paths ultimately lead to the same goal: turning AI from an interesting technology into a practical business tool with measurable results.

We left Riyadh with dozens of conversations to continue and with an even stronger interest in helping companies in Saudi Arabia turn ambitious AI plans into working solutions.

If you’d like to explore where AI can create measurable value in your business, talk to us, or learn more about our Solutions.