Saudi Arabia is planning to invest billions of dollars to transform its oil wealth into technological influence, positioning itself as a major global provider of artificial intelligence (A.I.) computing power.
Near the Red Sea, a proposed $5 billion data center could serve coders across Europe, while another complex on the country’s eastern coast would cater to developers in Asia and Africa. The projects are part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s effort to turn the kingdom into a leader in A.I. infrastructure, leveraging its vast energy resources, land, and financial reserves.
Saudi officials say they are in talks with major U.S. tech firms — including OpenAI, Google, Intel, Oracle, and Amazon — ahead of the annual Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, known as “Davos in the Desert.” One potential deal under discussion could supply computing power to Elon Musk’s xAI, according to Saeed Al-Dobas, an executive at Humain, the state-backed company overseeing Saudi A.I. projects.
Launched in May, Humain aims to handle about 6% of the world’s A.I. workload within a few years, up from less than 1% today. If successful, Saudi Arabia would trail only the United States and China in computing capacity, according to Synergy Research Group.
The kingdom is developing three major data center hubs that executives say could be up to 30% cheaper than U.S. operations. Officials are also exploring “data embassy” zones, allowing foreign firms to operate under their own national laws to address data privacy concerns.
Amazon confirmed collaboration with Humain to support Saudi Arabia’s A.I. ambitions, while Microsoft declined to comment. Analysts, however, remain skeptical that the country can meet its goals, citing limited local expertise and the global rush to build data centers.
Saudi Arabia’s A.I. expansion also tests U.S. foreign policy, as Washington weighs chip export rules amid concerns over Riyadh’s growing ties to China. Despite the doubts, experts say the kingdom’s determination — and deep pockets — could secure it a greater foothold in the digital economy than many expect.