The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia and Google Cloud have launched a strategic partnership to establish a global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. Unveiled at the 8th Future Investment Initiative (FII8), the collaboration aims to position Saudi Arabia as a leader in AI innovation, attracting local and global enterprises and startups.
The AI hub will focus on expanding Saudi Arabia’s information and communication technology (ICT) sector by 50%, with a significant emphasis on developing the local workforce. This initiative seeks to implement AI training programs for millions of Saudi students and professionals, enhancing skillsets aligned with the country’s national growth goals.
This partnership will allow businesses to leverage Google Cloud’s advanced technology, enhancing AI applications across diverse sectors, including healthcare, retail and finance. The collaboration also targets research initiatives in Arabic language models and AI applications tailored for the Saudi market, supported by Google Cloud's custom silicon investments, including Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and the Vertex AI platform designed for generative AI applications.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, commented on the strategic importance of the new AI hub: “This partnership underscores PIF’s commitment to creating an AI-friendly environment through investments in human capital and technology. Saudi Arabia is an ideal location for global tech partners, as PIF combines sector expertise with a long-term investment approach".
Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google, said, “This strategic collaboration will accelerate AI adoption in the local language across industries such as healthcare, retail, and financial services. We aim to create highly-skilled jobs for Saudis and opportunities for global businesses through cloud adoption".
PIF's focus on technology investments emphasizes AI as a transformative force across various sectors, including entertainment, healthcare and logistics. By enhancing Arabic-language capabilities in Google’s generative AI model, Gemini, through new datasets, the partnership further strengthens AI innovation tailored to regional needs.
Research by Access Partnership estimates that the AI hub could contribute up to $71 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP over the next eight years, creating thousands of skilled jobs as the economy embraces AI advancements. This initiative builds on Google Cloud’s established footprint in Saudi Arabia, including the Dammam cloud region launched last year as part of its global network of 40 regions.