Saudi Arabia to Become Global AI Powerhouse with  $40 Billion Investment

Saudi Arabia’s government plans to invest $40 billion in artificial intelligence to become a global powerhouse, as per reports by the New York Times. Three people were briefed about the plan, indicating a shift towards AI due to its growing usage in all aspects of life. 

One of the representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund also indicated that the partnership deals with Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, and other financiers are in the pipeline. These AI investments are streamlining Saudi Arabia’s plan to become a global power by growing its economy and political status. 

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Saudi Arabia is planning such a huge investment by utilizing its sovereign wealth funds, which have an asset value of $900 billion or more. The Saudi tech fund along with the help of Wall Street Bank, would leave behind funds raised by US venture capital firms and SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, which was known to be the world’s largest investor in startups.

In recent times, there has been a lot of shift towards the AI industry, both in the public and private sectors, raising the interest and need for investors and funding around the globe in this field. Everyone is in a race to become a big tech giant like NVIDIA or OpenAI. Recently, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was also in talks with MGX, a UAE investment funding company, to raise funds for his upcoming plan to enter the AI hardware or chip manufacturing industry to beat Nvidia.

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Most of the plan for Saudi Arabia’s $40 billion investment will speed off in the second half of 2024. As per the reports, Andreessen Horowitz and Yasir-al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, are planning to set up an office in Riyadh, the UAE’s capital city.

Saudi Arabia has been keenly looking for partners, startups, or companies associated with artificial intelligence to empower its economy and grow its political standing. Saudi Arabia is also thinking of starting its own AI companies. With a $40 billion investment, the Saudi Arabian government and Andreessen Horowitz will become the key players in the AI industry, sidelining other businesses in the field.