Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) reached an agreement with Google Cloud to build an AI hub for joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific applications.

To create the Arabic-language models, PIF and Google Cloud will use the cloud provider’s Gemini generative AI models combined with Arabic datasets.

The hub is expected to generate thousands of job opportunities and increase the GDP of Saudi Arabia by $71 billion over eight years.

PIF and Google Cloud will provide training through AI programmes for millions of students and professionals, supporting the country’s goal of growing its ICT sector by 50 per cent.

The AI infrastructure will include Google Cloud’s newest tensor processing unit (TPU) and GPU accelerators, and Vertex AI platform, which is designed to speed development of applications using existing models and tooling.

PIF stated the hub will be based near Dammam, capital of the nation’s Eastern Province and the site of a Google Cloud region.

Ruth Porat, president and CIO of Alphabet and Google (pictured left), stated the partnership would “accelerate adoption of AI in the local language and across industries including healthcare, retail, financial services and more, for enterprises and start-ups in Saudi Arabia, across the Middle East, Africa and around the world”.

The partnership is subject to regulatory approvals.