GAIN Summit: Leveraging AI to Promote Economic Growth

Come and Gone is the third installment of the annual Global AI Summit, and as anticipated, it reaped a slew of deals, MOUs, and further understanding of AI’s place in Saudi business. Organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), it commenced in Riyadh with HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman spearheading the sponsorship has just taken place having taken place from September 10th-12th at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, concluding as a great success. The highly anticipated event boasted 450 speakers and attendees from 100 countries, 150 sessions and workshops, drawing renowned figures in the AI field, policymakers, representatives, and influential thinkers. The opening ceremony was attended by members of the Royal Family, ministers, foreign dignitaries, thought leaders, executives from major technology and AI companies globally, and recognized ambassadors to the Kingdom.

Right from the beginning of the event, it was clear that the summit had attracted a wide array of businesses, revealing the significant interest the event had generated. The venue was abuzz with several booths representinglocal enterprises and international sponsors. Notable participants included major US technology giants such as Google Cloud and Microsoft, along with the cloud-computing division of Huawei Technologies. These esteemed sponsors utilized the platform to present and demonstrate their cutting-edge products and services to an attentive audience comprised of local residents and visitors from afar.

AI will account for 12% of the Saudi economy by 2030, according to SDAIA forecasts, with the AI market growing at an impressive annual rate of 29%. Within the public sector, 39% of state agencies have already started integrating AI into their systems, and 81% of users have reported significant improvements in service delivery due to the involvement of AI integration. Saudi Arabia eagerly showcased the nation’s dedication to building a knowledge-based economy, highlighting the region’s increasing demand for cloud services and attracting investment from tech companies. Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia’s President, Alan Qi, projects a doubling of Huawei’s revenue from cloud computing by 2024, following a tenfold growth last year.

Moreover, Jonathan Ross, CEO of the U.S.-based chip start-up Groq, has announced plans to collaborate with Aramco Digital to establish a data center in Saudi Arabia to compete with Nvidia in the data center sector. Tech giant Google’s establishment of a data center in Dammam has had a significant impact. A representative from Google Cloud noted that the company’s business is flourishing in Saudi Arabia, a country with a population of 36 million, attributing part of its success to the establishment of the data center.

These announcements, coupled with a myriad of Memorandums of Understanding being signed and announced, underscores the attention AI is drawing to itself, as the KSA does its utmost to ensure that it is at the forefront of development. By hosting the third edition of the Summit, SDAIA has demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering innovation and advancing the country’s economic diversification goals outlined in Vision 2030. Having attended this year’s Summit, we eagerly anticipate observing the developments and progress throughout the year.

*Prof. Alaa Alghamdi

Saudi Academic & Writer

@ayghamd