Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF has announced that it has sealed a strategic partnership with Google Cloud for the establishment of a global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam, in the kingdom's Eastern Region.

The landmark deal, signed at the 8th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII8), further positions Saudi Arabia as a global AI hub and a top destination for enterprises and startups.

This collaboration aims to enhance the Saudi workforce by offering AI programs to millions of students and professionals, supporting the national objective of growing the information and communication technology (ICT) sector by 50%.

Under this partnership, customers will be able to leverage Google Cloud’s technology to drive growth across industries and expand the capacity for AI application delivery.

According to PIF, businesses and their consumers can anticipate improved AI application quality and data services, delivered locally and with greater efficiency.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the partnership will emphasize joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications, the wealth fund said in a statement.

Enabled by Google Cloud’s substantial investment and expertise in custom silicon, this high-performance infrastructure will feature the latest tensor processing unit (TPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerators, along with the Vertex AI platform - Google Cloud’s specialized development environment for building generative AI applications, it added.

Governor of PIF Yasir Al Rumayyan said: "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," stated Al Rumayyan.

According to him, this collaboration underscores Saudi Arabia’s attractiveness for major tech initiatives.

"Investors are drawn to the nation’s strategic location at the crossroads of three continents, its advanced infrastructure, its access to fast-growing Middle Eastern markets, and the potential for reliable and affordable renewable energy to support the AI hub," he noted.

Preliminary research commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by tech policy advisory firm Access Partnership estimates the new AI hub could contribute a cumulative $71 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP over eight years.

Increased economic activity from AI adoption is expected to support the creation of thousands of highly skilled direct and indirect jobs, it stated.

These investments expand on Google Cloud’s existing presence in Saudi Arabia, which includes the Dammam cloud region, launched last year as part of Google Cloud’s global network of 40 regions, it added.

President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google Ruth Porat said this strategic partnership will accelerate the 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 worldwide.

"As part of Saudi Arabia’s vibrant technology ecosystem, we aim to create highly skilled jobs for Saudis and provide opportunities for global businesses to drive growth through cloud adoption," she stated.

Technology is one of PIF’s priority investment sectors, enabling critical areas of the economy, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, transportation, logistics, utilities, and renewables.

PIF’s telecom, communications, and technology investments include the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), which delivers digital and cyber services through national talent, and iot squared, a company specializing 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 integrating additional Arabic datasets with Google Cloud’s technology, stated Porat.

This will provide local businesses, researchers, and developers the opportunity to incorporate these models into their systems, enabling sophisticated Arabic-language AI agents and applications, she added. 

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