Riyadh — Saudi Arabia’s state-owned real estate powerhouse ROSHN, backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is back with its third annual PropTech Hackathon — and this year’s edition could redefine how property and technology intersect in the Kingdom. The 2025 event isn’t just about coding marathons or idea pitches; it’s part of a broader national movement to embed digital transformation deep within Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing urban developments.
Applications are open until October 18, 2025, and teams of two to five participants — all 18 or older and Saudi-based — can apply with one original concept via ROSHN’s official registration portal. Out of all entries, 100 teams will be shortlisted to compete in November during Cityscape Global Riyadh, where ROSHN serves as a foundation partner. Winners will share a SAR 1.3 million prize pool and gain access to mentorship from Tuwaiq Academy, The Garage, and partners like Microsoft, Google Cloud, CODE, Monsha’at, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity & Programming.
This year’s challenge spans five tracks:
AI & Automation, Smart Infrastructure, IoT & Sustainability, Digital Lifestyle & Resident Experience, and Open Digital Solutions for “Daman Startups.” The structure mirrors past editions but raises the stakes — bigger prize money, deeper partnerships, and clearer pathways for winners to test their solutions across ROSHN’s live projects.
When ROSHN first launched the hackathon in 2023, winners like EcoFit and NeoROSHN walked away with SAR 350,000 each — and, more importantly, a platform to scale. By 2024, the hackathon had tripled in scope, distributing over SAR 1.5 million across categories such as Green Tech and Smart Operations. Projects like Memar Tech, Eco Palm Cement, and Groshn impressed judges for combining real-world feasibility with environmental impact, earning spots in mentorship programs and pilots.
But ROSHN’s ambitions extend beyond trophies. Its internal innovation arm, ROSHNEXT, was launched to help integrate hackathon-born ideas into the developer’s massive residential and mixed-use projects nationwide. This bridging of ideation and deployment — rarely seen in the region’s real estate sector — could make ROSHN one of MENA’s most forward-looking PropTech players.
The program also aligns neatly with national goals. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda and the government’s wider PropTech ecosystem, including initiatives like the Daman PropTech Challenge by CODE (MCIT), form the scaffolding for a new digital real-estate economy. ROSHN’s hackathon serves the top of that funnel — helping identify raw talent and innovative prototypes that can later evolve into investable startups through programs like Daman.
As Saudi cities expand into fully connected ecosystems, ROSHN’s approach demonstrates how large developers can become enablers, not just builders. Every edition of the hackathon draws new talent into the PropTech pipeline, introduces global best practices, and accelerates the Kingdom’s smart-city transformation.
Still, challenges remain. Real-estate digitization is notoriously slow — integration, procurement, and regulation can hinder momentum. Yet ROSHN’s persistence over three consecutive years signals conviction, not experimentation. Its willingness to merge innovation programs with actual infrastructure projects could give Saudi PropTech the push it needs to achieve scale and credibility.
Developers, founders, and students eager to participate can register through ROSHN’s official hackathon page before October 18. Shortlisted teams will head to Riyadh this November for live demos and judging. The winners will be revealed during Cityscape Global 2025, with pilots expected to begin soon after.
Whether the next regional PropTech unicorn emerges from this year’s hackathon remains to be seen. But the direction is unmistakable — ROSHN is redefining what it means to be a real-estate company in a digital age. And if even a handful of this year’s prototypes make it past the hackathon floor, Saudi Arabia’s built environment could become one of the most technologically advanced in the world.
Saudi Developer ROSHN expands PropTech push with $350,000 hackathon for 2025