Saudi Arabia’s bid to become a global technology giant could be helped by an unlikely ally.
The Saudis have been pivoting towards a new tech-economy built around artificial intelligence (AI), data infrastructure and digital innovation in recent years.
Given they share an interest in technological advancements with the United States, they could spearhead the world into a new digital age.
Saudi Arabia and Its Big AI Ambitions
AI is the core focus of Saudi Arabia’s transformation.
The government has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, research and partnerships, in a bid to become a leading destination for AI innovation.
The government inaugurated the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) to help put the country among the elite in AI development.
Events such as LEAP 2025 in Riyadh have also been designed to bring Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to fruition.
Saudi Arabia has invested north of $14.9 billion into different fields of AI this year including a $1.5bn agreement with US-based AI chip company Groq.
This deal involves the construction of the world’s largest AI inference data centre in the Eastern Saudi Arabian province of Dammam in partnership with Aramco Digital.
This facility will focus on real-time AI processing, especially in the inference phase, allowing different industries across the Middle East to deploy AI systems at scale.
The US has quickly realised that Saudi Arabia is no longer a buyer of its technology, but a partner in taking AI tech much further.
Geography, Energy and Connectivity Power the Kingdom’s Rise
Saudi Arabia is the perfect leader of the AI revolution due to its physical and digital geography.
The nation cuts across Europe, Asia and Africa, which allows it to provide a low-latency data centre for the three most populous continents. That is a serious advantage in this race to lead the AI race.
Saudi Arabia also has massive energy reserves to cater to the heavy demand for power when training and deploying major AI models.
It is building a remarkable network of data centres and undersea cables to meet its AI goals. Around 33 data centres are running, while 42 remain under construction. Experts expect these developments to grow over sevenfold in the coming years.
Meanwhile, the Desert Dragon Data Centres will deliver 187 megawatts to key cities, helping to meet the high demand for power from AI services.
The plan is not just to host data. Saudi Arabia wants to control the pipeline of AI value.
With semiconductors, data centres and cloud connectivity, Saudi Arabia has all the tools to become a AI superpower.
The US knows there is an opening to collaborate to deploy secure and scalable AI solutions in the Global South as China continues to gain ground in the digital sphere.
Gaming Could be a Success Story in US-Saudi Tech Ties
With all the talk of AI and semiconductors, it is easy to forget that Saudi Arabia and the US are also bit-hitters in the gaming industry.
The Saudis invested over $37.8bn in the gaming sector through the Public Investment Fund (PIF), acquiring US mobile game developer Scopely for $4.9bn under its Savvy Games Group subsidiary.
Its investment in gaming falls in line with its other goals, such as cultural diversification, engaging its youthful populace and digital entertainment.
Saudi Arabia has a young, technologically inclined population looking for new entertainment avenues. It has embraced gaming and the associated iGaming sector could be next.
The Most Arab casinos online currently operate under licenses issued in other iGaming jurisdictions, but Saudi Arabia may seek to establish its own regulatory authority.
It could garner inspiration from the US, which has a vibrant regulated online gambling infrastructure across numerous states.
Saudi Arabia has already helped bolster the US gaming ecosystem by injecting capital, improving studios and opening new markets. The US could offer payback by advising on iGaming issues.
Investment from the Saudis allows American developers to spend more time on production and take bolder creative risks. It also makes distribution faster.
This new digital era is an opportunity for the US and Saudi Arabia to define their relationship around leading the tech space, especially in AI. They can also unlock lucrative avenues for future alliances.
