Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Google Cloud have announced a strategic partnership to establish a global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam. This significant collaboration, signed at the Future Investment Initiative (FII8), positions Saudi Arabia as a leading global AI center.
Key Objectives of the Partnership
The partnership aims to:
- Enhance Saudi Workforce: Offer AI programs to millions of students and professionals, supporting the growth of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
- Drive Industry Growth: Empower customers to leverage Google Cloud’s technology to accelerate growth across various industries and expand AI application delivery capabilities.
- Advance AI Research: Conduct joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications.
- Foster Innovation: Leverage Google Cloud’s advanced infrastructure, including TPUs and GPUs, and the Vertex AI platform to facilitate the development of generative AI applications.
Strategic Advantages of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s strategic location, advanced infrastructure, access to growing markets, and potential for renewable energy make it an attractive destination for global tech initiatives. This partnership highlights the country’s commitment to becoming a global tech hub.
Leadership Comments
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasizing its role in fostering an AI-friendly environment and upskilling the Saudi workforce. Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google, highlighted the potential of the partnership to accelerate AI adoption in the region and globally.
Expanding AI Capabilities
PIF and Google Cloud will collaborate to enhance the Arabic-language capabilities of Gemini, Google’s generative AI model family, by integrating additional Arabic datasets. This will empower local businesses, researchers, and developers to leverage advanced Arabic-language AI agents and applications.
Economic Impact
A study by Access Partnership estimates that the new AI hub could contribute $71 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP over eight years, creating thousands of high-skilled jobs.
Google Cloud’s Growing Presence
This partnership builds on Google Cloud’s existing presence in Saudi Arabia, including the Dammam cloud region launched in 2023.
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