Saudi Arabia Unveils $10bn AI Push to Cement Global Tech Leadership
Saudi Arabia is said to utilize its financial resources to establish itself as a significant force in the AI sector. Through its own company, Humain, Saudi Arabia is planning to build new aged infrastructure, form new partnerships, and invest a hefty amount in technologies that are inspired by or utilize Artificial Intelligence in any way.
Also Read- AWS and HUMAIN Partner to Launch $5 Billion AI Zone in Saudi Arabia, Fueling National AI Leadership
Strategic Investments and Partnerships
Its state-owned AI technology named Humain, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's $940 billion Public Investment Fund and chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is planning to launch a $10 billion capital fund in different AI startups from the US, Europe, and even Asia, as reported by Financial Times.
The company is in discussions with various tech firms from the United States, including OpenAI, xAI, and Andreessen Horowitz, with plans to establish equity partnerships for its data center initiatives. Humain is reported to have already signed agreements with Nvidia, AMD, Amazon Web Services, and Qualcomm, worth $23 billion.
Ambitious Infrastructure Plans
One of the primary objectives of Humain's strategy is to establish a structured AI infrastructure, which will involve building multiple data centers with a total capacity of 6.6 gigawatts by 2034, at an estimated cost of $77 billion. The infrastructure is reported to handle a good amount of global AI model training and inference tasks by 2030. Humain is also said to be focusing on building different kinds of chip design capabilities, although it is not certain if they will enter the chip manufacturing sector.
Vision for Economic Diversification
Saudi Arabia is exploring AI as one of the components of its 2030 Vision initiative. The initiative aims to diversify its economy from oil dependency to other sectors as well. Saudi Arabia is placing greater importance on AI and focusing more on technology, rather than solely relying on competitiveness in the oil sector.
