Building the Foundations for Saudi Arabia’s AI-Powered Future

Across the Middle East and Africa, I have had the opportunity to witness many ambitious national transformation journeys. Alongside other leading nations in the region, Saudi Arabia stands out for the scale of its ambition and the pace at which is translating vision into action.

Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom is not simply modernising its economy — it is reimagining how technology can enable growth, resilience, and opportunity at national scale. In 2025, we saw Saudi Arabia move decisively from AI ambition to execution. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the focus is now on building the foundations that will sustain that progress for decades to come.

At Microsoft, we see Saudi Arabia not only as a fast-growing digital economy, but as a regional leader helping define what responsible, large-scale AI adoption looks like.

AI as a Pillar of Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia’s transformation is impressive. The Kingdom is modernising government, advancing industrial capability, building new cities, and creating entirely new sectors — all at the same time.

AI has become a core enabler of this agenda. It is improving public services, supporting economic diversification, accelerating sustainability goals, and helping organisations operate at new levels of efficiency and scale. What stands out is how deliberately AI is being aligned to national priorities — not treated as an isolated technology initiative.

Over the past year, we have seen leaders across government, industry, and education embrace AI not as a tool to experiment with, but as an engine for competitiveness and long-term value creation.

From Adoption to National Capability

2025 marked an important inflection point. Across Saudi Arabia, AI moved beyond pilots and proofs of concept into scaled, real-world deployment.

Government entities are embedding AI into service delivery and decision-making, using digital platforms to improve efficiency and citizen experience at scale. In education, AI tools are being introduced to support teachers and prepare students for a digital-first future – from national digital leading initiatives with the Ministry of Education to the use of AI-enabled platforms that help prepare students for a digital-first future.

In the private sector, Saudi enterprises are applying AI to modernize core operations. Mining companies such as Ma’aden are using AI to support employees automate routine tasks, extract insights, and quickly access company information – saving thousands of hours, while organizations like ACWA Power are deploying AI to optimize energy and water operations directly supporting national sustainability and efficiency goals.

Investing in Sovereign AI Infrastructure

One of the most critical enablers of Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions is infrastructure.

Microsoft’s investment in a new cloud datacenter region in the Kingdom — planned to be operational in 2026 — represents a foundational step in supporting Saudi Arabia’s digital sovereignty and AI readiness. This in-country infrastructure will provide secure, resilient, and low-latency cloud and AI services, enabling government and regulated industries to run mission-critical workloads with confidence.

But this investment is about more than capacity. It is about creating a trusted platform on which innovation can scale — supporting compliance, data residency, and the enterprise-grade safeguards required for an AI-first economy.

As AI becomes embedded into core national systems, sovereign infrastructure will be essential to unlocking its full potential.

Building AI Capacity Through Skills

Technology alone does not drive transformation. People do.

A defining feature of Saudi Arabia’s AI journey has been its commitment to building human capital at scale. From civil servants and educators to students and developers, the Kingdom is investing heavily in AI literacy and advanced digital skills.

These efforts are helping ensure that AI adoption is inclusive, sustainable, and locally driven. They are also laying the groundwork for a new generation of Saudi talent — equipped not only to use AI tools, but to build, govern, and innovate with them.

As I look across the region, 1 thing is clear; the countries that will lead in AI are those that treat skilling as a strategic priority, not a side initiative. Saudi Arabia is setting a strong example.

Trust and Responsible AI at the Core

As AI scales, trust becomes paramount.

Saudi Arabia has shown leadership in recognising that responsible AI governance is not a constraint on innovation — it is an enabler of it. Clear frameworks around security, transparency, and accountability are essential to ensuring AI delivers benefits while protecting institutions and individuals.

This focus on trust will be even more important as AI systems evolve from tools into collaborators — supporting complex decisions, managing workflows, and operating alongside human teams across sectors.

Looking Ahead to 2026 and Beyond

The next phase of Saudi Arabia’s AI journey will be defined not by adoption, but by impact.

We are entering an era where AI agents will support government workflows, industries will deploy more autonomous systems, and large-scale projects will use AI to simulate, optimise, and manage complexity at unprecedented levels.

With sovereign infrastructure coming online, strong governance frameworks in place, and a growing pool of skilled talent, Saudi Arabia is well positioned to lead this next chapter — not only for the Kingdom, but as a model for the wider region.

At Microsoft, we are proud to be a long-term partner in Saudi Arabia’s transformation. Our commitment goes beyond technology — it is about supporting the Kingdom’s ambition to build a diversified, knowledge-based economy powered by innovation and trust.

Saudi Arabia is not simply adopting AI. It is shaping how AI can be deployed responsibly, at scale, and in service of national progress. As the Kingdom moves toward 2030 and beyond, the foundations being built today will define what is possible for generations to come.