KHALEEJ TIMES, Saturday, Nov 21, 2020 | Rabi Al Thani 6, 1442
Saudi to invest $20 billion in AI by 2030
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia announced Thursday it will invest $20 billion in artificial
intelligence projects by 2030, as the oil-rich country seeks to diversify its
economy amid slumping crude prices.
The kingdom, the Arab world’s biggest economy, launched an artificial
intelligence strategy last month to attract investors as part of Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious “Vision 2030” plan to wean the kingdom off oil.
“Saudi Arabia will invest $20 billion from now until 2030,” said Abdullah A
Ghamdi, head of the Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, which was
established in 2019.
“We aspire to have artificial intelligence as a component of an alternative
economy through startups and innovation companies... and view artificial
intelligence as a source of savings and additional income,” he said during a G20
media briefing.
Ghamdi added that shares will be open to both foreign and local investors, as
the country seeks to establish more than 300 start-ups in artificial
intelligence by 2030.
Like most countries in the energy-rich Gulf, Saudi Arabia has been trying to
diversify its economy which has been hit by the double whammy of low oil prices
and the coronavirus pandemic.
Riyadh is struggling to fund Prince Mohammed’s ambitious diversification plan,
as it seeks to repair its image after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal
Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The G20 summit in Riyadh at the weekend is set to bring together the leaders of
the world’s 20 richest nations but has been overshadowed by human rights group
calls for the kingdom to release jailed activists.