Saudi Arabia to pour $100B into AI data centers and startups

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planning a $100 billion investment into an AI project called Project Transcendence. According to a Bloomberg report, the Saudi technology hub will build AI infrastructure and attract talent.

The project is part of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision and is directly competing with the UAE in advancing AI in the MENA region. The Kingdom envisions a national AI entity to rival the G42 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The investment will help establish AI data centers, support startups, and attract foreign talent to the Kingdom, eventually creating a local AI and technology ecosystem.  

The Saudi AI hub to be structured like Alat

Project Transcendence will have an organizational structure similar to Alat, a Saudi entity specializing in electronics and advanced industries. The project will be backed by a $100 billion commitment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and is expected to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s vision to become a powerful player in AI globally. 

Bloomberg reported that the AI hub will be built in collaboration with Google’s parent company,  Alphabet Inc. The PIF will partner with Alphabet, which will invest between $5 billion and $10 billion. One of the first projects from this partnership is the creation of an Arabic large language model. 

The Arabic LLM is the first partnership in Project Transcendence. In the future, the AI hub entity will seek to work with other tech giants, driving the total investment to $50 billion and then to $100 billion. The AI hub project may involve several governmental bodies and will focus on building AI infrastructure in the Kingdom in an effort to close the AI gap with the United States and China. 

Saudi Arabia wants to be a top AI nation

Within the next five years, the Kingdom aims to be one of the top 15 nations worldwide in AI adoption. By 2030, the Kingdom intends to start exporting AI technology. The PIF is in talks with Andreessen Horowitz about a partnership on an AI fund, which may reach a value of $40 billion.

Saudi Arabia has established AI research centers and ministries focused on advancing large language models. According to a report by PwC, artificial intelligence will add $135 billion to the Saudi economy by 2030, placing it behind China and North America as one of the largest economies impacted by AI.

During the eighth Future Investment Initiative, the governor of the Saudi PIF, Yasir Al Rumayyan, said, “Artificial general intelligence marks the next frontier, promising machines capable of problem solving and driving productivities that will impact every sector from health care to energy.”