Saudi Arabia is planning to establish a $40 billion investment fund dedicated to artificial intelligence, as reported on Tuesday. The Kingdom aims to become a major player in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry, as reported by Al-Monitor newspaper.
The financial fund will position the Gulf state at the forefront of global investors in the field of artificial intelligence and support the country’s strategy to shift its economic focus away from petroleum, as outlined in its Vision 2030 plan.
Recently, The New York Times reported, citing information from three knowledgeable sources, that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which holds assets of over $900 billion, has been in discussions in recent weeks about a potential collaboration with Andreessen Horowitz, one of the prominent venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, along with other potential investors for the fund.
It is expected that Saudi Arabia will start a new investment campaign in the last part of the current year, where several international venture capital firms may participate, according to sources. The country is also deeply investing in digital foundations such as cloud computing, which is crucial for artificial intelligence. Foreign investment has also been notably strong; for example, during the recent LEAP Technology Conference in Riyadh, Amazon Web Services (AWS) committed to a $5.3 billion investment in the fast-growing tech sector in Saudi Arabia to establish cloud data centers starting from 2026.
The world is currently competing in some of the leading artificial intelligence industries globally, with major players like the United Kingdom, Canada, and several European countries emerging as key competitors, although China and the United States still hold the top positions in the global tech scene.
The UAE on the Other Hand
In the United Arab Emirates, which alongside Saudi Arabia is among the pioneers in artificial intelligence in the Middle East, in 2017 it became the first country to create the position of Minister of Artificial Intelligence. The appointed minister, Omar Sultan Al Olama, stated that there are more than a thousand specialized AI companies currently operating in the UAE.
By providing minimal regulatory barriers, substantial tax incentives, and exclusive “golden” visas to attract AI experts, among other attractive incentives, the UAE actively encourages these companies to expand their operations in the country.
In addition, Abu Dhabi houses a tech hub known as Hub71, which receives financial support from the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Ventures and acts as a magnet for startups in the United Arab Emirates.
European Migration to the Middle East
The United Arab Emirates actively seeks to attract leading artificial intelligence companies from Europe to relocate their headquarters to the Gulf state.
According to a report released on Tuesday by the Financial Times, officials from the UAE and Canada recently conducted discussions.Conversations with the German company Alfa Alpha, in addition to my company Synthysia and Stability AI from the United Kingdom, trying to persuade these emerging artificial intelligence companies to change their operational site.
Recently, the European Union has implemented its own artificial intelligence law, putting one of the strictest regulatory frameworks regarding artificial intelligence globally.
These regulations prohibit the use of systems deemed “unacceptable risks,” including those systems that exploit biometric data to reveal individuals’ private details, such as their sexual orientations. Additionally, the law sets distinct rules for widely applied artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT.
The United Kingdom is a country with a more flexible regulatory environment towards artificial intelligence, where existing regulatory bodies shape policies around the technology instead of enacting new specific laws.
With a technology market valued at over a trillion dollars, many emerging companies in London see it as an ideal location to secure funding for their projects.
We look forward to hearing your opinions and comments on this matter. Do you believe that this investment will contribute to the development of the artificial intelligence industry in the region? Do you have any ideas or questions you would like to share with us? We are excited to hear your thoughts and look forward to shedding more light on further news and developments in the field of artificial intelligence in the future.
