The Saudi National AI Strategy 2030: What AI Investors Should Know

The future of Saudi Arabia’s oil-based economy may lie in a commodity far less tangible: artificial intelligence. In recent years the country has taken major strides toward positioning itself as a global leader in the new technology. It’s all part of its broader Vision 2030 to diversify the kingdom’s economy. 

Companies and governments worldwide are already taking notice. In 2024, Saudi Arabia ranked first in government strategy on Tortoise Media’s Global AI Index. And in recent months, the kingdom has been on a major investment drive, drawing the world’s top players in AI to the country.

Below is everything you need to know about how Saudi Arabia is shaping up to be a major player in the world of AI.

What Is the Saudi National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI)?

In 2020, Saudi Arabia announced an ambitious strategy to position itself as a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030.

At the center of its plans is the National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI), a long-term roadmap that sets out key benchmarks to develop the kingdom into a hub for AI development. The NSDAI includes six core components:

1- Ambition - The big picture goal is for Saudi Arabia to rank among the world’s top 15 nations in the field of AI by 2030.

2- Skills - To ensure there is a strong local workforce competent in AI, the kingdom will train over 20,000 data and AI specialists.

3- Investment - The kingdom aims to attract SAR 75 billion ($20 billion) in AI investments in Saudi Arabia by 2030, including both foreign direct investment and local funding for data and AI initiatives.

4- Policies and Regulations - To rank among the top 10 countries in open data by enacting business-friendly regulations.

5- Research and Innovation - To rank among the top 20 countries in terms of scientific contributions to AI by establishing a cutting-edge research environment nested within smart cities.

6- Ecosystem - To grow a collaborative and forward-looking ecosystem of 300 data and AI startups.

What are Saudi Arabia’s Global Partnerships for AI investment?

Key to Saudi Arabia’s AI plans are partnerships with other nations and tech companies. To this end, Saudi Arabia in May unveiled Humain, a Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned company that will operate and invest across the AI value chain. Many of the country’s recent partnerships involve deals between Humain and major tech firms. Below are highlights of some of the major agreements inked so far.

1- Partnerships with the United States 

During a visit to Saudi Arabia by President Trump in May, the two countries announced several tech and AI-related deals that notably include granting Saudi Arabia access to advanced chips from Nvidia and AMD Other key investments between U.S. firms and Saudi Arabia include:

- Saudi Arabia’s DataVolt, a data center company, is partnering with US firm Supermicro on a $20 billion deal to bring the American company’s high-tech equipment to AI campuses in Saudi Arabia and the US.

- Companies including Google, DataVolt, Oracle, Salesforce, AMD, and Uber committed to invest $80 billion on both sides. That includes construction of AI data centers, cloud computing and equipment.

- Google Cloud and PIF will build and operate a global AI hub in Dammam as part of a $10 billion partnership that includes Humain. As part of the deal Google will bring its cloud infrastructure and AI models like Gemini, Imagen and Veo.

- AMD and Humain formed a $10 billion five-year collaboration to deploy up to 500 megawatts of AI infrastructure, dubbing it the world’s most open, scalable, resilient and cost-efficient AI infrastructure. The buildout includes a data center, sustainable power systems and global fiber connectivity and will have capacity ready by early 2026.

- Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Humain will partner on a $5 billion-plus “AI Zone” in the kingdom, with dedicated AWS AI infrastructure and servers with world-class semiconductors.

2- Partnerships with China 

Amid the ongoing tech race between the United States and China, Saudi Arabia has looked to balance its western investments with some agreements with Chinese entities. Highlights include:

- Saudi Arabia’s VC firm Prosperity7 joined a $400 million investment round held in 2024 in Chinese generative-AI startup Zhipu AI, which hopes to rival OpenAI.

- PIF subsidiary Alat inked a deal with China’s Dahua Technology worth $200 billion to build a global manufacturing center for smart technology like smart cities and transportation.

- China’s Alibaba Cloud is partnering with Saudi Arabia on an AI empowerment program to train local Saudi talent while offering its cloud services for major projects like smart cities.

- The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is collaborating with two Chinese universities to build an Arabic-focused large language model called AceGPT.

- Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund injected $100 million into Pony.ai in a joint venture to manufacture autonomous vehicles.

- Chinese AI firm SenseTime is collaborating with Saudi entities on AI talent training, R&D and smart-city initiatives. 

3- Partnerships with the European Union and UK 

Saudi Arabia’s ongoing partnerships with the UK and EU are more limited but involve various initiatives around AI ethics and regulation, part of the kingdom’s goal of providing a fruitful ecosystem for investors and users. Some highlights include:

- Saudi Arabia attended an AI Safety Summit in the UK in 2023 where it endorsed the Bletchley Declaration to promote responsible and human-centric AI governance.

-In 2024, Saudi Arabia’s Zain KSA signed an MOU with the UK’s AWTG to improve 5g networks with AI

- A high-level Saudi delegation visited the UK in July to explore AI-related collaborations with Wayve, Automata Technologies, Catapult innovation hubs, and OneWeb.

- Saudi Arabia hosts the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), with its headquarters in Riyadh, with several EU board members.  In July, the DCO launched a new AI ethics tool to help governments ensure that AI systems align with human rights principles.

4- Gulf & Regional Alliances 

While Saudi Arabia looks to be the region’s leader in AI, it’s also partnering with neighbors, with some cooperation tied to pre-existing bilateral councils, like the Saudi-Emirati Bilateral Coordination council and the above-mentioned DCO. Some other recent initiatives include:

-In July, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an AI pact to boost regional cooperation and innovation focused on the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), or combining AI with connected devices.

-Singapore’s EON AI Venture is launching a Strategic Gulf States Partnership Initiative, which aims to help turn the gulf states into AI innovation hubs with annual events in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait City, building of training centers and investments in entrepreneurs.

How does the Saudi government support AI Investors?

The Saudi government has launched a host of initiatives, funding opportunities, and smart regulations to support AI investors. Some highlights include:

1- Saudi VC firm Wa’ed Ventures earmarked $100 million for Saudi AI startups in 2024.

A generative AI accelerator, GAIAI, was launched in 2023 to provide early-stage funding, mentorship and AI technology access to AI startups.

2- The government has enacted many business-friendly regulations directed at AI, including fast-track approvals, IP protections, tax credits, and streamlined residency services for founders and investors.

3- The kingdom’s open data portal – open.data.gov.sa – allows businesses and researchers to download and utilize open data sets from various government agencies, a helpful tool for building new applications and services.