عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

PIF, Google Cloud Partner to Establish AI Hub in Saudi Arabia

The partnership will emphasize joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications. - SPA
The partnership will emphasize joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications. - SPA
TT
TT

PIF, Google Cloud Partner to Establish AI Hub in Saudi Arabia

The partnership will emphasize joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications. - SPA
The partnership will emphasize joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications. - SPA

PIF and Google Cloud announced on Wednesday a strategic partnership to establish a global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Region.
According to a press release issued by the PIF, the landmark partnership, signed at the 8th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII8), further positions Saudi Arabia as a global AI hub and a top destination for enterprises and startups. This collaboration aims to enhance the Saudi workforce by offering AI programs to millions of students and professionals, supporting the national objective of growing the information and communication technology (ICT) sector by 50%.
Under this partnership, customers will be able to leverage Google Cloud’s technology to drive growth across industries and expand the capacity for AI application delivery. Businesses and their consumers can anticipate improved AI application quality and data services, delivered locally and with greater efficiency, SPA reported.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the partnership will emphasize joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications. Enabled by Google Cloud’s substantial investment and expertise in custom silicon, this high-performance infrastructure will feature the latest tensor processing unit (TPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerators, along with the Vertex AI platform—Google Cloud’s specialized development environment for building generative AI applications.
The release added atht this collaboration underscores Saudi Arabia’s attractiveness for major tech initiatives. Investors are drawn to the nation’s strategic location at the crossroads of three continents, its advanced infrastructure, its access to fast-growing Middle Eastern markets, and the potential for reliable and affordable renewable energy to support the AI hub.
Governor of PIF Yasir Al-Rumayyan said, “We are delighted to welcome this new Google Cloud AI hub to Saudi Arabia. This partnership demonstrates PIF’s dedication to fostering an AI-friendly environment through investments in human capital and technology, upskilling thousands with cutting-edge tools to support our sustainable and innovative infrastructure goals. Saudi Arabia is a prime location for global tech partners, as PIF brings both sector expertise and a long-term approach to investment.”
Meanwhile, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google Ruth Porat added, “This strategic partnership will accelerate the adoption of AI in the local language and across industries—including healthcare, retail, financial services, and more—for enterprises and startups in Saudi Arabia, across the Middle East, Africa, and worldwide. As part of Saudi Arabia’s vibrant technology ecosystem, we aim to create highly skilled jobs for Saudis and provide opportunities for global businesses to drive growth through cloud adoption.”
Technology is one of PIF’s priority investment sectors, enabling critical areas of the economy, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, transportation, logistics, utilities, and renewables. PIF’s telecom, communications, and technology investments include the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), which delivers digital and cyber services through national talent, and iot squared, a company specializing in the Internet of Things.
To advance Arabic-language models, PIF and Google Cloud will explore enhancing the Arabic-language capabilities of Gemini, Google’s generative AI model family, by integrating additional Arabic datasets with Google Cloud’s technology. This will provide local businesses, researchers, and developers the opportunity to incorporate these models into their systems, enabling sophisticated Arabic-language AI agents and applications.
Preliminary research commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by tech policy advisory firm Access Partnership estimates the new AI hub could contribute a cumulative $71 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP over eight years. Increased economic activity from AI adoption is expected to support the creation of thousands of highly skilled direct and indirect jobs.
These investments expand on Google Cloud’s existing presence in Saudi Arabia, which includes the Dammam cloud region, launched last year as part of Google Cloud’s global network of 40 regions.

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

Blogs to Bluesky: Social Media Shifts Responses after 2004 Tsunami

Teuku Hafid Hududillah, 28, an Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) officer, shows the seismograph system that recorded the 9.1 magnitude quake on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, at the monitoring station in Aceh Besar, Aceh, Indonesia, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Teuku Hafid Hududillah, 28, an Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) officer, shows the seismograph system that recorded the 9.1 magnitude quake on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, at the monitoring station in Aceh Besar, Aceh, Indonesia, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Blogs to Bluesky: Social Media Shifts Responses after 2004 Tsunami

Teuku Hafid Hududillah, 28, an Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) officer, shows the seismograph system that recorded the 9.1 magnitude quake on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, at the monitoring station in Aceh Besar, Aceh, Indonesia, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Teuku Hafid Hududillah, 28, an Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) officer, shows the seismograph system that recorded the 9.1 magnitude quake on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, at the monitoring station in Aceh Besar, Aceh, Indonesia, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)

The world's deadliest tsunami hit nations around the Indian Ocean two decades ago before social media platforms flourished, but they have since transformed how we understand and respond to disasters -- from finding the missing to swift crowdfunding.

When a 9.1-magnitude quake caused a tsunami that smashed into coastal areas on December 26, 2004, killing more than 220,000 people, broadcasters, newspapers and wire agencies were the main media bringing news of the calamity to the world.

Yet in some places, the sheer scale took days to emerge.

Survivor Mark Oberle was holidaying in Thailand's Phuket when the giant waves hit Patong beach, and penned a blog post to fend off questions from family, friends and strangers in the days after the disaster.

"The first hints of the extent were from European visitors who got text messages from friends back home," said Oberle, adding people initially thought the quake was local and small, when its epicenter was actually near western Indonesia, hundreds of miles away.

"I wrote the blog because there were so many friends and family who wanted to know more. Plus, I was getting many queries from strangers. People were desperate for good news tales," said the US-based physician, who helped the injured.

The blog included images of cars ploughed into hotels, water-filled roads and locals fleeing on scooters because rumors produced "a stampede from the beach to higher ground".

Bloggers were named "People of the Year" by ABC News in 2004 because of the intimacy of first-hand accounts like those published in the days following the tsunami.

But today billions can follow major events in real-time on social media, enabling citizen journalism and assistance from afar, despite the real risk of rumor and misinformation.

During Spain's worst floods for decades in October, people voluntarily managed social media accounts to assist relatives trying to locate their missing loved ones.

After Türkiye's devastating earthquake last year, a 20-year-old student was rescued thanks to a post of his location while buried under the rubble.

- 'Fast picture' -

Two decades ago, the online social media landscape was vastly different.

Facebook was launched early in 2004 but was not yet widely used when the tsunami hit.

One of YouTube's founders reportedly said an inspiration for the platform's founding in early 2005 was an inability to find footage of the tsunami in its aftermath.

Some tsunami images were posted on photo site Flickr. But X, Instagram and Bluesky now allow for instant sharing.

Experts are clear that more information saves lives -- hours lapsed between the tremor's epicenter near Indonesia and the giant waves that crashed into Sri Lanka, India and Thailand's coastal areas.

Daniel Aldrich, a professor at Northeastern University, conducted interviews in India's Tamil Nadu where many said they had no idea what a tsunami was and had no warnings in 2004.

"In India alone nearly 6,000 people were taken by surprise and drowned in that event," he said.

Mobile apps and online accounts now quickly publicize information about hospitals, evacuation routes or shelters.

"Social media would have provided an immediate way to help locate other survivors and get information," said Jeffrey Blevins, head of journalism at the University of Cincinnati.

Oberle also noted that "knowing what help was locally available... would have provided a clearer perspective of what to expect in the days to come".

- Citizen science -

Beyond emergency rescue, social media clips can also be a boon to understanding a disaster's cause.

When giant waves crashed into Indonesia's Aceh province, footage remained largely confined to handheld camcorders capturing the carnage.

Fast forward to 2018, when a quake-tsunami hit Indonesia's Palu city, killing more than 4,000 people, enough videos were taken on smartphones that scientists researching seismic activity were later able to use the clips to reconstruct its path and time between waves.

The piece of citizen science in 2020 used amateur videos to conclude it happened so fast because of underwater landslides close to shore.

But it's not all good news.

Scholars warn that disinformation and rumors have also hindered disaster responses.

When Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina in September, relief efforts were disrupted as tensions between locals and emergency workers rose over unfounded rumors including a higher hidden death toll and diverted aid.

Workers faced reported threats from local armed militias.

"This information was so malicious that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) had to withdraw its teams from the area," said Aldrich.

"Social media has absolutely altered the field of disaster response for the good and the bad."

Yet perhaps the biggest change -- the free flow of information to the vulnerable -- has been beneficial.

Laura Kong of the Honolulu-based International Tsunami Information Center recently recalls how "2004 was such a tragedy".

"Because... we might have known there was an event, but we didn't have a way to tell anyone."