المملكة: With a vision led by the Crown Prince, the Kingdom is building a global system for artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

In this context, the establishment of "Sdaya" By royal decree in 2019 AD, to be the original specialist in data and artificial intelligence, in a step that embodied the Kingdom’s leadership among the first countries to establish a government entity specialized in this field. The Authority worked on preparing the national strategy for data and artificial intelligence aimed at leading the national transformation towards a data-led knowledge economy, and enabling the Kingdom to pioneer future technologies and employ them to serve national priorities and enhance economic diversification, based on six basic goals and dimensions, which are: ambition, competencies, policies and systems, investment, research and innovation, And the system.

This strategy contributed to moving the Kingdom from the planning stage to the stage of empowerment and application, by organizing the data and artificial intelligence sectors, setting policies, standards and controls regulating them, building specialized national expertise, adopting professional standards, developing standards, tests, and educational and training programmes, in addition to building and operating digital infrastructure and government clouds, stimulating the growth of advanced technology sectors, and encouraging innovation and investment in them.

Global Indicators

As a result of these efforts, the Kingdom achieved It has made remarkable progress in global indicators, as it ranked fourteenth globally in the Global Index of Artificial Intelligence for the year 2025, in addition to achieving advanced positions in indicators of governance, innovation, and human capital development. The Kingdom also came in third place globally in the OECD’s Artificial Intelligence Policy Observatory, in addition to topping the Arab and regional levels in developing advanced artificial intelligence models according to the Artificial Intelligence Index issued by Stanford University.

On the investment side, the artificial intelligence sector in the Kingdom witnessed rapid growth, as government spending on technologies increased. Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies increased by 56.25% during the year 2024 compared to 2023, while the total funding that Saudi companies received in the field of artificial intelligence amounted to about $9.1 billion last year through 70 investment deals, in addition to the presence of more than 664 companies working in the field of data and artificial intelligence, which enhances the role of the private sector in supporting the national economy.

Technical infrastructure

As for the technical infrastructure aspect, the Kingdom has witnessed A significant expansion in data centers and advanced computing, as the volume of data center capacity increased by 42.4% between 2023 and 2024, in addition to the launch of advanced technical projects such as: the high-performance computer. "Shaheen 3"Developing global data centers to support artificial intelligence applications, and launching the largest government data center in the world (Hexagon) in early 2026 with a capacity of 480 megawatts, with nine cloud regions in the Kingdom, including (4) regions under construction that are being developed by global cloud service providers, and more than 430 government systems integrated into the national data lake.

The Kingdom has paid great attention to building human capabilities in advanced technology fields, through multiple training programs and initiatives. And qualifying various segments of society, including experts, specialists, and the general public, in a way that contributes to bridging the knowledge gap, meeting national needs, and raising awareness of artificial intelligence techniques. These efforts have resulted in the training of more than 11,000 specialists.

Future Economy

In a related context, the program highlights "Smy" As an independent national program in which the number of participants exceeded more than one million male and female citizens, which reflects the breadth of the scope of national qualification and enhances the readiness of national competencies to contribute to building the economy of the future.

The Kingdom’s efforts in data and artificial intelligence were not limited to the national level, but rather reached the world, within the framework of its commitment to supporting international efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. It contributed to presenting international initiatives that support the responsible use of these technologies, resulting in the establishment of the International ICAIRE Center under the auspices of UNESCO and its headquarters. Riyadh, to be concerned with the research and ethics of artificial intelligence, and its use to achieve a positive impact on human societies in the world.

The Kingdom, through its national initiatives and active participation in global partnerships and international bodies, has consolidated its influential presence in shaping the future of data technologies and artificial intelligence at the global level, including its accession to the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) as the first Arab country to join this partnership, which reflects its advanced position and growing role in this field, It confirms its commitment to harnessing these technologies to serve humans and enhance their quality of life, in line with international principles that call for employing technology to achieve good and prosperity for all humanity.