The president of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) hailed the kingdom on Thursday as a possible hub for artificial intelligence activity outside of the United States, citing its oil resources and financial skills.
The president of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) touted the kingdom on Thursday as a potential hub for artificial intelligence activity outside of the United States, noting its oil resources and finance capabilities.
“We are fairly well positioned to be an AI hub outside of the U.S.,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the sovereign wealth fund’s Miami investment event.
“AI will consume a lot of energy, and we are the global leader when it comes to fossil fuel energy and when it comes to renewable energy,” he went on to say.
According to Rumayyan, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, has the “political will” to make AI projects a reality, as well as the cash to support the technology’s development.
His statements imply that data centers could be a key component of Riyadh’s strategy to benefit from rising demand for generative AI technology, which requires massive amounts of computing power.
AI technology employs hundreds of chips in huge data centers to train algorithms to execute tasks. Electricity prices have risen as tech companies strive to construct increasingly complex AI models and deliver generative goods to billions of customers.
According to Rumayyan, the PIF is distributing more than 70% of its funds to Saudi Arabian projects and investments, with an international allocation of 20% to 25% planned for the future. He added that the United States accounted for roughly 40% of the fund’s worldwide investments.
PIF was investing between $40 billion and $50 billion per year and planned to grow it to $70 billion per year between 2025 and 2030, he said.
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