ICT & AI
From The Report: Saudi Arabia 2025
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The ICT and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors have emerged as central pillars of the Kingdom’s economic transformation agenda, reflecting the growing strategic importance of digital infrastructure, advanced technologies and data-driven growth under Vision 2030. Public investment and regulatory reform as well as e-government initiatives over the last decade have laid the foundations for a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem that now spans telecommunications, cloud computing, data centres and AI. universal internet penetration, high mobile usage and strong network performance have created favourable conditions for digital services and innovation. As a result, ICT increasingly contributes to GDP and AI is transitioning from a policy ambition to a deployment phase, supported by rising adoption across businesses, government entities and consumers alike.

This chapter contains interviews with Ahmed Al Suwaiyan, Governor, Digital Government Authority; Ahmed Al Alola, CEO, THIQAH; and Tareq Amin, CEO, HUMAIN.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Smart moves: Data-powered services, high-performance infrastructure and intelligent applications are unlocking investor potential
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Saudi Arabia’s ICT and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors have emerged as central pillars of the Kingdom’s economic transformation agenda, reflecting the growing strategic importance of digital infrastructure, advanced technologies and data-driven growth under Vision 2030. Public investment and regulatory reform as well as e-government initiatives over the last decade have laid the foundations for a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem that now spans telecommunications, cloud computing, data centres and AI. A clearly defined governance framework, led by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and supported by specialised…

Interview

Streamlined infrastructure: Ahmed Al Suwaiyan, Governor, Digital Government Authority, on strategies to boost accessibility to services and how local companies strengthen the digital ecosystem
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Interview: Ahmed Al Suwaiyan, Governor, Digital Government Authority, on strategies to boost accessibility to services and how local companies strengthen the digital ecosystem In what ways are shared government digital services contributing to interoperability and cost efficiency? AHMED AL SUWAIYAN: Shared digital services are fundamental to achieving interoperability and optimising costs. A unified digital identity allows individuals and businesses to authenticate securely across all government…

Interview

Digital ascendancy: Ahmed Al Alola, CEO, THIQAH, on strengthening data foundations for future-ready scaleable innovation
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Interview: Ahmed Al Alola, CEO, THIQAH, on strengthening data foundations for future-ready scaleable innovation What is shaping the transformation from e-government platforms to data-driven ecosystems? AHMED AL ALOLA: A large number of government services are now automated. The next phase is less about adding more automation and more about elevating the user experience. Citizens and businesses increasingly expect platforms that are intuitive and tailored to their needs. So the shift now is from…

Analysis

Leading with data: Generative technologies, large-scale data centres and energy resources are building an innovation global powerhouse
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The year 2025 was pivotal for Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to establish itself not only as a regional but as an international centre for artificial intelligence (AI) and computational power. The Kingdom plans to leverage its abundant energy resources – including oil, natural gas and expanding solar capacity – to support large-scale data centres required to power the computational demands of advanced AI technologies. Humain A key moment for these ambitions came in May of that year with the launch of HUMAIN, the government-backed AI company. Owned by the Public Investment Fund and led by CEO Tareq Amin, HUMAIN is a central vehicle for domestic…

Interview

Essential partners: Tareq Amin, CEO, HUMAIN, on creating innovation sovereignty through architecture and intellectual property ownership
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Interview: Tareq Amin, CEO, HUMAIN, on creating innovation sovereignty through architecture and intellectual property ownership What role can hyperscale data centres play in anchoring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and advancing the digital economy? TAREQ AMIN: Globally, the biggest constraint to AI infrastructure is energy – advanced models require enormous power, cooling, land and connectivity, and very few regions can offer all three at scale. The Kingdom uniquely fills this energy…

Analysis

Knowledge economy: Compute capacity, skilled workforces and digital governance are becoming the new drivers of economic scale and productivity
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The MENA region is undergoing a significant digital transformation, with total IT spending projected to reach $169bn by 2026. This represents an 8.9% increase over the previous year, reflecting a structural pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI) integrated infrastructure across major regional economies. A primary driver of this growth is the rapid expansion of data centre systems, which is expected to see a 37.3% surge in investment as regional players seek to secure sovereign cloud capabilities. As of 2025, Saudi Arabia’s domestic AI market has reached a valuation of $1.2bn, and is forecast to expand significantly to $4.4bn by 2034, maintaining…