Riyadh, October 31, 2024 – In a landmark announcement today, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia and Google Cloud revealed a strategic partnership aimed at establishing a cutting-edge global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam, located in the Eastern Region of the Kingdom. This significant collaboration was unveiled during the 8th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII8), further solidifying Saudi Arabia’s position as a burgeoning center for AI innovation and a premier destination for both enterprises and startups.
According to a press release from the PIF, this partnership is poised to enhance the Saudi workforce by providing AI training and educational programs to millions of students and professionals. This initiative directly supports the national objective of expanding the information and communication technology (ICT) sector by an ambitious 50%. By facilitating access to advanced AI resources, the collaboration aims to nurture a skilled workforce capable of driving technological advancements across various industries.
Under the terms of the partnership, businesses will benefit from Google Cloud’s state-of-the-art technology to propel growth across multiple sectors, significantly improving the quality of AI applications and data services. Local delivery of these services promises enhanced efficiency and responsiveness to consumer needs, marking a new era in the region's technological landscape.
Pending regulatory approvals, the collaboration will focus on pioneering research in Arabic language models and the development of Saudi-specific AI applications. Leveraging Google Cloud’s extensive investment and expertise in custom silicon technology, the infrastructure will incorporate the latest tensor processing units (TPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). Additionally, the Vertex AI platform—Google Cloud’s specialized environment for building generative AI applications—will be instrumental in this venture.
This strategic partnership underscores Saudi Arabia’s attractiveness as a hub for major technological initiatives. The Kingdom’s strategic location at the nexus of three continents, coupled with its advanced infrastructure and access to rapidly growing markets in the Middle East, positions it as an ideal location for tech investors. Furthermore, the potential for reliable and affordable renewable energy enhances the viability of the AI hub.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, expressed enthusiasm about welcoming the Google Cloud AI hub to Saudi Arabia, stating, “This partnership exemplifies PIF’s commitment to cultivating an AI-friendly environment through strategic investments in human capital and technology. By equipping thousands with cutting-edge tools, we aim to support our goals of sustainable development and innovative infrastructure. Saudi Arabia is a prime location for global tech partnerships, and PIF’s sector expertise coupled with a long-term investment strategy makes this possible.”
Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the transformative potential of this collaboration. “This strategic partnership will catalyze the adoption of AI across various sectors, including healthcare, retail, financial services, and more. We are dedicated to fostering an environment where enterprises and startups in Saudi Arabia, as well as throughout the Middle East and Africa, can thrive. By being part of Saudi Arabia’s vibrant technology ecosystem, we aim to create high-skilled job opportunities for Saudi nationals while enabling global businesses to leverage cloud technologies for growth.”
The technology sector is one of PIF’s primary investment priorities, serving as a catalyst for critical areas of the economy, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, transportation, logistics, utilities, and renewable energy. Among PIF’s investments in telecom and technology is the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), which provides digital and cybersecurity services through local talent, as well as iot squared, a firm specializing in Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
To advance Arabic-language models, the partnership will focus on enhancing the capabilities of Gemini, Google’s generative AI model family, by integrating additional Arabic datasets with Google Cloud’s technology. This initiative will empower local businesses, researchers, and developers to incorporate sophisticated Arabic-language AI agents and applications into their systems.
A preliminary study commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by the tech policy advisory firm Access Partnership estimates that the new AI hub could contribute an impressive $71 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP over the next eight years. The anticipated economic activity from AI adoption is expected to facilitate the creation of thousands of highly skilled direct and indirect jobs, further bolstering the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts.
This partnership builds on Google Cloud’s existing presence in Saudi Arabia, which includes the Dammam cloud region launched last year as part of a global network of 40 cloud regions. Together, these initiatives signal a promising future for AI in the Kingdom, driving innovation and fostering growth across the region.
