KoçSistem and KoçDigital sign two Saudi partnerships at LEAP 2026

The Koç Group technology arms inked deals with GAPP and Mannai IT to expand digital signage and AI-led transformation in Saudi Arabia.

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KoçSistem and KoçDigital announced two new partnership agreements in Saudi Arabia at LEAP 2026, held in Riyadh from 31 August to 3 September. Both companies are part of Koç Group, Türkiye's largest industrial and services conglomerate, and the deals represent the latest step in a deliberate Gulf expansion strategy built around local partner channels rather than direct market entry.

KoçSistem signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GAPP, a Saudi ICT and digital signage solutions provider, covering the rollout of Pixage, KoçSistem's cloud-based digital publishing platform. Pixage allows organisations to manage networks of digital screens from a single central platform, with support for content scheduling, location-based targeting and IoT integration. The MoU is intended to place Pixage in Saudi public-sector institutions, airports, hospitals, retail environments and corporate campuses.

KoçDigital, meanwhile, entered a strategic partnership with Mannai Information Technology Saudi Arabia. The agreement pairs KoçDigital's solution architecture and industrial transformation expertise with Mannai's local market integration capability and managed services business. The two companies intend to develop client opportunities across artificial intelligence, IoT, cloud technologies and industry-specific digital transformation.

The deal

Mehmet Ali Akarca, chief executive of KoçSistem and vice-chairman of KoçDigital, framed the strategy as one of co-development rather than simple technology export. "Our aim here is not simply to export technology," he said. "It is to build a structure that understands the needs of the region, develops solutions together with local partners and creates long-term value."

Neither agreement discloses financial terms, minimum revenue commitments, or target customer names. The MoU with GAPP is a framework document; binding commercial terms would follow if and when joint projects proceed. The Mannai partnership is described as strategic but similarly lacks disclosed deal value.

Market context

Saudi Arabia's technology modernisation agenda, anchored in Vision 2030, has attracted a broad range of international technology vendors seeking to establish a local presence. The Kingdom's Public Investment Fund has committed substantial capital to digital infrastructure, and the government has signalled expectations that technology partners contribute to local capability-building and in-country value, not merely supply imported software. That policy environment makes the partner-led model KoçSistem and KoçDigital are pursuing a commercially rational choice, since it aligns with procurement preferences and reduces the overhead of establishing a full subsidiary.

The digital signage market in the Gulf is growing steadily, driven by large-scale infrastructure projects, smart-city initiatives and the transformation of public-sector buildings. Pixage competes in a category alongside global players such as Samsung MagicINFO, LG SuperSign and a range of specialist SaaS platforms. KoçSistem's differentiation is framed around IoT integration depth and the ability to vary content dynamically by location and audience segment, though independent benchmark comparisons were not provided in the release.

For KoçDigital, the Mannai partnership puts it in a competitive cluster that includes the large global systems integrators, regional players such as Gulf Business Machines, and hyperscaler professional services arms. The AI and IoT components of the agreement sit in categories that are moving quickly as Saudi enterprises invest in operational technology modernisation in energy, logistics and manufacturing.

Regional expansion path

KoçSistem already operates through local partnerships and offices across the broader Middle East, and LEAP 2026 served as the announcement vehicle for both agreements. The conference drew more than 200,000 attendees and has become one of the primary platforms for technology vendors announcing Gulf expansion plans.

The next milestones to watch will be whether either agreement converts from framework to contracted project, and whether Pixage or KoçDigital's AI and cloud offerings appear in named Saudi customer deployments in the months ahead. Progress on those fronts would confirm whether the partner channel model is generating commercial traction or remains at the stage of market positioning.

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