Saudi Arabia Allocates $14.9 Billion for AI Development

Saudi Arabian authorities, in partnership with tech giants, are set to invest $14.9 billion in projects and companies related to AI and cloud computing. This was announced by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha.

Among the collaborating firms are Google Cloud, Lenovo, Alibaba Cloud, Qualcomm, Groq, Salesforce, and others.

Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Executive Vice President for Technology and Innovation at Saudi Aramco, noted during a speech that businesses in Saudi Arabia need to scale in the AI sector through partnerships.

According to CompaniesMarketCap, Aramco ranks as the seventh-largest company in the world by market capitalization, valued at $1.79 trillion.

Al-Khowaiter stated that the Saudi giant has entered into a $1.5 billion partnership with Groq to deploy AI-based cloud computing. Aramco plans to sign agreements with other AI companies in the future.

Saudi manufacturing giant Alat and Lenovo announced a $2 billion investment in a local facility focused on artificial intelligence and robotics. Lenovo will establish a regional headquarters in Riyadh as part of the deal.

Google, Qualcomm, and Alibaba Cloud also announced the launch of various AI initiatives in Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Salesforce, Databricks, Tencent Cloud, and SambaNova have committed to investing $500 million, $300 million, $150 million, and $140 million, respectively, in the country’s technological infrastructure.

Back in March 2024, media reported on Saudi Arabia’s preparations to create a $40 billion fund for investing in AI technologies. This initiative is in collaboration with venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.