AI to contribute 12% to Saudi Arabian GDP by 2030: SDAIA

The artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to contribute 12% to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) said in its latest '𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗮' report in advance of this week's Global AI Summit.

Annual spending on public cloud services is projected to grow at a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2029.

The AI market in Saudi Arabia is forecasted to grow with a 29% CAGR, reaching a market volume of $9.2 billion by 2023. Additionally, investments in data centers are anticipated to reach $15 billion by 2030, increasing capacity to 1300 megawatts.

The adoption of AI within Saudi government entities is gaining momentum. Currently, 39% of these entities are using or experimenting with AI. Of these, 74% focus on operational processes, and 65% are involved in IT-related processes. A significant 81% of entities using AI report enhanced service delivery. Furthermore, 43% of government entities have allocated or plan to allocate a budget for AI projects this year or next. Among these, 70% are developing AI solutions, 38% are purchasing commercial AI solutions, and 55% are integrating AI into existing applications and operations.

Notable AI Initiatives

Several AI projects highlight the Kingdom's commitment to advancing technology:

• SDAIA's Estishraf Platform: Provides AI-powered data analytics and decision-making services to over 100 government entities.
• Sawaher National Platform: Utilizes AI to analyze streams from over 15,000 cameras, offering real-time insights and alerts.
• Ministry of Justice: Uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to streamline real estate document processing with 98% accuracy.
• CST: Employs AI to detect illegal signal boosters, improving communication by 49%.

Research and Innovation

Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in AI research and innovation. The Kingdom has established 11 Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in AI and generative AI, including partnerships with Nvidia and local institutions. These centers focus on various sectors such as media, data science, and AI. Additionally, the Open Access Portal Platform created by RDIA connects researchers with resources across 12 AI-specialized research labs from 11 universities and two research centers.

Workforce and Education

The AI workforce in Saudi Arabia is expanding rapidly. As of 2022, there are over 1,400 AI specialists, with 165,000 workers possessing at least two AI skills. The number of AI specialists has grown nearly 54% annually from 2018 to 2022. Saudi universities are also enhancing their AI programs: 86% offer undergraduate degrees related to AI, 56% offer master's degrees, and 9% offer AI-related PhD degrees. The Kingdom aims to train 1 million Saudis in AI skills by 2030 through SDAIA's One Million Saudi initiative.

Supercomputing and Cloud Infrastructure

Saudi Arabia is advancing its supercomputing capabilities, with ten supercomputers established, eight of which rank among the top 500 globally. Shaheen III at KAUST is the highest-ranked in the GCC, with performance 6 times faster than its predecessor, Shaheen II. The Kingdom is also investing heavily in GPUs, with KAUST acquiring over 3,000 Nvidia GPUs and SDAIA acquiring 500+ H100 Nvidia GPUs.

The Kingdom's cloud computing strategy includes an $18 billion plan and the Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework (CCRF) to attract investment and safeguard consumers. The Cloud Computing Special Economic Zone, launched in 2023, supports digital technology growth. The number of registered Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) has increased to 29, with global giants like Oracle, Google Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud establishing cloud regions in the country.

Investment and Startups

Saudi Arabia's venture capital firms are actively investing in AI startups. By August 2024, they had made 42 deals in AI companies, with notable investments including Wa'ed's $9 million in SpiderSilk and Saudi Aramco's $108 million in PASQAL. The AI sector saw $1.7 billion in investments in 2023, a 14% increase from the previous year. The Kingdom aims to attract $20 billion in AI investments by 2030.

Government and Private Sector Initiatives

Saudi Arabia's government is committed to boosting AI development through various initiatives. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) supports AI-focused companies and technology manufacturing. The NEOM project has invested $100 million in autonomous vehicle development, while Leap 2024 announced a $6.4 billion investment in next-generation technologies.