PIF and Google Cloud have entered a partnership to create a new global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
The landmark partnership, signed during the 8th edition of Future Investment Initiative (FII8), reinforces Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub and top AI destination for local and global enterprises and startups.
The partnership seeks to flourish the Kingdom’s workforce through AI programs for millions of students and professionals, supporting the national objective of growing the information and communication technology (ICT) sector by 50 percent.
Customers will be able to use Google Cloud’s technology to support growth across various industries and boost capacity for the delivery of AI applications. Businesses and their end consumers can expect to benefit from top-tier AI applications and data services, delivered faster locally. Investors can also benefit from the country’s strategic location at the intersection of three continents.
The partnership, which is subject to obtaining regulatory approvals, will feature joint research on Arabic language models as well as Saudi-specific AI applications. Enabled by Google Cloud’s years of investment and leadership in custom silicon, this high-performance, purpose-built infrastructure will include the newest tensor processing unit (TPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerators as well as the Vertex AI platform.
Ruth Porat President and Chief Investment Officer – Alphabet and Google
“This strategic partnership will accelerate adoption of AI in the local language and across industries — including healthcare, retail, financial services and more — for enterprises and startups in Saudi Arabia, across the Middle East, Africa and around the world. As part of Saudi Arabia’s rich technology ecosystem, we aim to create highly-skilled jobs for Saudis and opportunities for global businesses to fuel growth through cloud adoption.”
H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, commented that, “We are delighted to welcome this new Google Cloud AI hub to Saudi Arabia. This partnership demonstrates PIF’s dedication to fostering an AI-friendly environment through investments in human capital and technology, upskilling thousands with cutting-edge tools to support our sustainable and innovative infrastructure goals. Saudi Arabia is a prime location for global tech partners as PIF brings both sector expertise and a long-term approach to investment.”
The technology sector is one of PIF’s priority investment sectors, being a key enabler of other crucial areas of the economy such as entertainment, financial services, healthcare, transport and logistics, and utilities and renewables.
PIF’s investments in the telecoms, communications and technology sector include the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), which provides digital and cyber services and solutions through national talents, and “iot squared,” which specializes in the Internet of Things.
To advance Arabic-language models, PIF and Google Cloud will explore enhancing the Arabic-language capabilities of Gemini, Google’s generative AI model family, by combining additional Arabic datasets with Google Cloud’s technology.
Preliminary research commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by Access Partnership, a global tech policy advisory firm, estimates the new AI hub could add a cumulative $71 billion in GDP to the Saudi economy over eight years.
