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Saudi Arabia sets 12% target for AI’s contribution to GDP

By Andrew Hammond
Delegates gather for the GAIN artificial intelligence summit in Riyadh Dominic Dudley/Alamy Live News via Reuters Connect
Delegates gather for the GAIN artificial intelligence summit in Riyadh
  • Deadline is 2030 and PIF taking lead
  • Could add $15trn to world economy
  • Public and private funding rising

Saudi Arabia wants artificial intelligence to account for 12 percent of its GDP by 2030, the government has said.

The Public Investment Fund will lead its efforts to build “a robust AI ecosystem”, the Saudi Data and AI Authority said in a report published this week.

The State of AI paper said the country was “rapidly positioning itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence” but did not detail how it plans to hit the 12 percent mark.

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Julie Sweet, CEO of US consultancy Accenture, said its research suggests that generative AI could account for 4 percent of Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2030. 

“That’s a staggering number. It’s symbolic of the power that generative AI has,” she told the audience at the Gain AI conference taking place in Riyadh from September 10 to 12. 

The kingdom’s GDP topped SAR1 trillion ($267 billion) in the second quarter of this year, the General Authority for Statistics reported this week.

PwC has estimated that AI could contribute more than $15 trillion to the global economy in 2030, prompting fierce competition to lead the field. 

Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth is funding its efforts to create a regional Silicon Valley. It is investing globally in electric vehicles and green hydrogen projects. The State of AI report also points to a sharp rise in government spending on information and communications technology.

PIF is central to the AI strategy through investments in its associates Riyad Bank and Acwa Power, and its subsidiaries Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence and tech manufacturer Alat, the report said. 

The New York Times reported in March that PIF was looking to create a $40 billion fund in partnership with US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and other financiers. The sovereign wealth fund declined to comment at the time. 

The government wants to attract $20 billion of private sector investment in AI by 2030, despite the national and corporate security concerns associated with the technology – which it has pledged to confront. 

Accenture will open an office in Riyadh early next year that will offer AI training for tourism, energy and other sectors. Sweet said more than 4,000 people would receive "practical on-the-job training to do data and AI”.

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