The future of artificial intelligence in Saudi Arabia: towards global leadership
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is steadily progressing towards establishing itself as an international hub for data and advanced technologies. In this context, the artificial intelligence sector in Saudi Arabia unprecedented development under the ambitious Vision 2030, launched under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and with the direct support and attention of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. His Highness has given special attention to innovation and advanced technologies, making them a fundamental pillar in the national transformation journey to enhance the Kingdom's competitiveness and solidify its position on the global economic map.
Historical roots and comprehensive digital transformation
This rapid development was not a sudden occurrence, but rather the culmination of historical efforts that began with establishing the foundations of e-government in the Kingdom and culminated in the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, which placed digital transformation as one of its most important strategic objectives. In a pivotal historical step, a royal decree was issued in 2019 establishing the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) as the competent authority and the primary national reference in this field. Since its establishment, SDAIA has worked on developing the National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, which aims to lead the transformation towards a data-driven knowledge economy, based on six key objectives: ambition, competencies, policies and regulations, investment, research and innovation, and the comprehensive ecosystem.
The expected impact of artificial intelligence growth in Saudi Arabia
has artificial intelligence (AI) in Saudi Arabia profound dimensions and impacts across various sectors. Locally, this sector contributes to diversifying income sources and reducing dependence on oil, as well as building national capabilities through pioneering programs such as the national "Samai" program, which has engaged over one million citizens and trained more than 11,000 specialists to bridge the knowledge gap. Regionally, the Kingdom leads the Arab world in developing advanced AI models, becoming an inspiring example for other countries in the region to adopt modern technologies. Internationally, the Kingdom has demonstrated its active presence by joining the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) as the first Arab country and establishing the Center for Research and Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (ICAIRE) under the auspices of UNESCO in Riyadh, reflecting its commitment to harnessing technology to serve humanity and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Global indicators and billion-dollar investments
These integrated efforts have yielded remarkable progress in global indicators, with the Kingdom ranking 14th globally in the 2025 Global AI Index and 3rd globally in the OECD's AI Policy Monitor. In terms of investment, the sector has witnessed rapid growth, with government spending on emerging technologies increasing by 56.25% in 2024 compared to the previous year. Saudi companies in this field secured approximately $9.1 billion in funding through 70 investment deals, with over 664 specialized companies operating in the Saudi market, thus strengthening the private sector's role in supporting the national economy.
Future-proof technological infrastructure
To ensure the sustainability of this growth and leadership, the Kingdom has significantly expanded its technological infrastructure. Data center capacity increased by 42.4% between 2023 and 2024. Mega-projects such as the Shaheen 3 supercomputer have been launched, and work is underway to inaugurate the world’s largest government data center (Hexagon) in early 2026 with a capacity of 480 megawatts. The Kingdom currently has nine cloud regions, including four under construction being developed by global service providers, in addition to more than 430 government systems integrated into the National Data Lake, confirming the Kingdom’s readiness to lead the future innovation-driven economy.
