The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is striving to become a hub for activities related to artificial intelligence outside the borders of the United States, as stated by Yasser Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, on Thursday.
Al-Rumayyan links the reason behind this focus to the Kingdom’s energy resources and its strength in financing. These priorities come within the context of the country’s pursuit to develop and modernize various sectors based on the vision of Saudi Arabia for 2030.
He stated at an investment event in the city of Miami, sponsored by the Sovereign Wealth Fund, saying:
“We have a solid foundation that enables us to become a focal point for artificial intelligence outside the United States.” He added, “Artificial intelligence will require massive energy, and we are at the forefront globally in both fossil fuel and renewable energy fields.”
Al-Rumayyan pointed out that the Kingdom, leading the world in oil production, also possesses the necessary “political will” to accomplish artificial intelligence-related projects. It has abundant financial resources that it can deploy to drive the technology’s advancement.
The official’s statements suggest that data storage facilities may play a pivotal role in Riyadh’s plans to leverage the growing interest in creative artificial intelligence technologies, which require extensive capabilities in computer processing.
Artificial intelligence is used in large data centers employing thousands of electronic chips to develop algorithms that perform various tasks. With intense competition among technology companies to develop advanced artificial intelligence models and launch innovative products for billions of users, electricity bills for these companies have seen a significant increase.
Al-Rumayyan mentioned that the sovereign fund focuses over seventy percent of its investments on projects and opportunities within Saudi Arabia, while planning to allocate between twenty to twenty-five percent for foreign investments. He further stated that around forty percent of the fund’s international investments are directed towards the United States.
He stated that the Public Investment Fund invests between 40 to 50 billion dollars annually, with these investments expected to increase to 70 billion dollars annually between 2025 and 2030.
Saudi Arabia has shown increasing interest over the years in the field of artificial intelligence, leaving its mark by organizing the World Artificial Intelligence Summit in 2020. During this event, Saudi Arabia actively engaged by forming three strategic partnerships with IBM, Alibaba, and Huawei. It also strengthened its efforts by signing a memorandum of understanding with the International Telecommunication Union to establish a global standard to promote and support international cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.
The Kingdom, in cooperation with the World Bank, launched a joint initiative as part of its efforts to support and develop the digital economy in developing countries. Additionally, it is striving to accelerate the pace of development of artificial intelligence technologies and use them as drivers of economic growth. It organized a consultation session in partnership with the United Nations to establish an advisory body aimed at enhancing international cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and addressing issues related to integration, coordination, and capacity building.
Saudi Arabia aims to train and qualify two thousand Saudi experts in the fields of data and artificial intelligence over the next decade.
The Kingdom seeks to attract investments worth up to 500 billion dollars in the NEOM project, located on the Red Sea coast, planned to be a modern city providing a smart lifestyle for the expected population of one million. In the future, this city may include the use of flying taxis.
Artificial intelligence is at the core of many modern projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, such as the Red Sea project. This ambitious tourist region will rely on advanced technologies for monitoring environmental impacts and tracking tourist movements.
