The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making a bold leap into the future of technology with a substantial $100 billion investment in the sector. This strategic move is placing the country at the pinnacle of global innovation and talent cultivation, according to a top-level Microsoft Arabia representative.
Recently, Saudi Arabia announced the creation of Alat, a tech enterprise supported by the Public Investment Fund, dedicated to channeling investments into the nation’s tech landscape.
In a dialogue with Arab News, Turki Badhris, the president of Microsoft Arabia, shed light on how the Kingdom’s mega-projects and initiatives are leveraging the transformative capabilities of AI. “Saudi Arabia is not just taking a regional stance but is emerging as a leader in AI on the global stage,” he remarked, indicating the Kingdom’s forward-thinking approach to not only enhancing its position as a regional AI hub but also as a global center for innovation and expertise.
Badhris acknowledged the Kingdom’s efforts in establishing a global AI hub for the Arabic language, underscoring its commitment to elevating the regional tongue and spurring international innovation. This endeavor is in line with Microsoft’s goal of empowering individuals and organizations within Saudi Arabia to realize the country’s immense potential in AI and technology fields.
“The recent Microsoft investment in cloud services and AI will act as a catalyst for the next growth phase of the ICT market in Saudi Arabia. The launch of our Cloud Data Center in the country, announced on February 23, will hasten and diversify the economic expansion of Saudi Arabia,” he explained to Arab News.
Badhris highlighted Microsoft’s pledge to the Kingdom, noting the profound influence that the fusion of cloud and AI technologies will have on expediting the growth of Saudi Arabia’s GDP.
He predicts a surge in businesses adopting cloud computing by the year 2024. “This represents a significant step in transforming their businesses, and it will naturally lead to the integration of AI into many of their business models and workflows,” he added.
Badhris also stressed the enormous impact AI and cloud technologies will have on various sectors. Microsoft is intent on unlocking the potential of these technologies in every industry across Saudi Arabia. The company is transitioning to an AI-first approach, infusing AI into its product suite at all levels.
“We offer cloud solutions tailored for specific sectors such as healthcare, education, logistics, sustainability, among others. Additionally, we have a robust ecosystem of partners who develop their own intellectual property solutions and deploy them on Microsoft Azure,” he stated.
Furthermore, Badhris revealed Microsoft’s recent support expansion for their copilot, M365, which now includes 16 additional languages, with Arabic among them, demonstrating the company’s commitment to localization in Arab nations.
The executive illustrated Microsoft’s collaboration with various organizations across the public and private sectors, ranging from startups to large corporations. “We engage with startups and SMEs because we recognize their significant contribution to the economy. For instance, we partnered with the Ministry of Investment, MISA, in a major initiative known as Alliance to Innovate,” he mentioned.
While acknowledging the strides made in Saudi Arabia, Badhris believes that the country has only begun to tap into its potential. “We are just scratching the surface in Saudi Arabia. Technology progresses rapidly, and we must keep pace with this evolution, bringing the world’s best to Saudi Arabia,” he concluded.