According to foreign media reports, the Saudi Arabian government plans to create a fund of about $40 billion to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. If successfully established, the fund would make Saudi Arabia the world's largest AI investor.
In recent weeks, representatives of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) have discussed potential partnerships with financial institutions such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Silicon Valley's most successful venture capital firm, on topics such as how this tech fund would need to work and the role that a16z could play in it, with a16z founding partner Ben Horowitz Ben Horowitz, founding partner of a16z, also discussed the possibility of a16z opening an office in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, president of PIF. In addition, other venture capital firms may also participate in that Saudi tech fund. It is reported that Saudi Arabia is likely to launch this tech fund in the second half of this year. Saudi representatives mentioned to potential partners that the country wants to support a range of AI-related tech startups, including chipmakers and data centers, and even the idea of founding an AI company.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made development in the field of data and AI an important part of its national strategy. Although the development of AI in Saudi Arabia is still at an early stage, the country attaches great importance to taking advantage of the opportunities of the rapid development of the global AI industry, and actively seeks external support in terms of technology, funding, and personnel, while continuing to strengthen the application of data and AI services in various fields, such as public services, industrial transformation, and social governance.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), which is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the industry and overseeing its implementation through data management, with the objectives of maximizing the contribution of data and AI to the realization of the objectives of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030", as well as enabling Saudi Arabia to become a global leader in the relevant fields. In 2020, Saudi Arabia released its National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI), which re-emphasizes the importance of leveraging the strengths of data and AI to make optimal data and AI a reality. In addition, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Plan (NIDLP) and the Data Center Strategic Plan (DCSP), among others, have helped the development of the data and AI industry.
Chinese companies are also actively involved in the development of the Saudi AI industry. Companies such as Huawei, Alibaba, China Mobile, and Shangtang Technology have continued to expand their digital business in Saudi Arabia, helping to improve the country's AI infrastructure.2023 In September 2023, the Huawei Cloud Riyadh node was officially opened, which can provide full-stack cloud services, including infrastructure, databases, big data, and AI services to meet the needs of a wide range of industries. In the same month, Saudi Call, a Saudi information and communication service provider, signed a memorandum of agreement with Shanghai Lutong Group and China Mobile International to officially launch the construction of a 100MW data center, in which all parties will leverage their respective strengths to provide integrated solutions, including storage, network coverage and database services, to support the growing business needs of the digital economy.
Currently, investors are racing to find or build the next NVIDIA or OpenAI, and this frenzy for AI technology has simultaneously pushed up the valuations of related publicly traded and private companies. If this Saudi tech fund finally gets off the ground, it will be a major force to be reckoned with in the AI space.