In an unprecedented move underscoring an intensifying worldwide competition for artificial intelligence supremacy, tech company Nvidia Corp. is said to have made a massive delivery of nearly 18,000 high-caliber AI chips to Saudi Arabia. The large shipment underscores a growing partnership between the world’s top chipmaker and the Kingdom, which has aggressively worked towards ambitious Vision 2030, where AI is earmarked as a key technology for economic diversification and technological development.
The shipment (whose details were provided to Reuters by three sources on the condition of anonymity as the information is private) is said consist of a number of Nvidia’s high-end Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) which are purpose built for accelerating grueling machine learning and deep learning tasks. No specifics of the vehicles in the shipment have been confirmed, but industry analysts suggest there are probably plenty of the much sought-after H100 and possibly some of the newer H200 GPUs. The chips are widely regarded as the most powerful for AI work in the industry, and are used to train enormous AI models in natural language processing, computer vision and recommendation systems.
The scale of the shipment — 18,000 units — underscores the extent of Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions. The scale of the rollout is so significant that it points at a deliberate pattern to create an AI infrastructure at a national level. The infrastructure will enable solutions ranging from smart city and health applications to optimizing energy resources and driving innovation across sectors in the Kingdom.
The goal is that the collaboration with Nvidia would provide Saudi Arabia with direct access to the basic technology it needs to establish itself as a player in the AI space — a company whose chips are powering some of the biggest discoveries in artificial intelligence around the world. This strategic partnership leapfrogs years of possible in-house R&D and sets the Kingdom up to draw AI talent, incubate domestic AI startups, and operationalize AI solutions at speed.
There are a variety of reasons that are driving Saudi Arabia’s aggressive strategy around AI. Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s plan for life after oil, seeks to cut its dependence on oil and create a more diverse economy, including new high-tech sectors. AI is considered a key element in the quest to achieve such a goal, with the potential to create new jobs, foster economic growth and enhance the livelihoods of its people. In addition, AI is becoming strategically important with national security, research, and global competition implications.
The massive outlay for Nvidia’s AI chips also demonstrates the Kingdom’s ability to finance immense tech projects. Saudi Arabia, with enormous sovereign wealth funds, is investing heavily in technology of the future to become a centre of creativity in the entire region.
For Nvidia, the partnership truly drives the company more global and crystallizes its role as the AI hardware provider. Demand for Nvidia’s GPUs has soared in recent years on the back of exploding AI growth and greater integration of machine learning technology throughout industries. Nvidia further establishes its dominant position: Securing a major deal with a country as playing-for-all-the-marbles as Saudi Arabia gives Nvidia an impressive revenue pipeline, and fortifies its already-powerful market lead.
But this arrangement may not be without its wrinkles and criticism. Geopolitical aspects of technology transfer, or ethical considerations for broad AI implementation, are likely topics of focus. It will be critical for both Nvidia and Saudi Arabia to ensure that AI technologies are used in a responsible and ethical manner as they continue to build and grow their relationship.
How Saudi Arabia will use 18,000 AI processors
The details of the applications and who will be using these 18,000 AI processors in Saudi Arabia are so far kept under wraps. However, some potential domains of utilization are:
Smart City Projects: Saudi Arabia’s Neom, an ambitious smart city, is likely to become a huge beneficiary of this AI infrastructure. The AI would enable a number of elements within Neom, such as self-driving cars, intelligent grids, next-generation security systems, and data-driven city planning.
Research and Development: Chips will be used to create and strengthen AI research institutions and universities in the Kingdom, develop local talent and encourage innovation in AI algorithms and applications that are customized to suit Saudi Arabia’s unique needs.
Health: AI has the potential to change the face of healthcare, including things like medical image analysis, drug discovery, personalized medicine and predictive diagnosis. This new AI framework could greatly accelerate the pace of the progress in Saudi Arabia.
Optimizations in the Energy Sector: Being the largest exporter of petroleum, the Kingdom could tap into AI to optimize oil and gas exploration, production and distribution, which would help save resources and boost sustainability across the industry.
Financial Services: AI is changing the financial services sector with use cases ranging from fraud detection and algorithmic trading to risk management and personalized financial advice. The AI skills could benefit the expanding financial services sector in Saudi Arabia.
National Security: AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in the domain of national security, with application across surveillance, cybersecurity and defensive capabilities. Advanced AI chips could significantly support Saudi Arabia in these vital areas.
The delivery of these 18,000 AI chips is an important step in Saudi Arabia’s becoming a pioneering AI country. Through this collaboration with Nvidia, the Kingdom is given the necessary hardware required to take such ambitious AI efforts into work and potentially completely re-invent its economy and society. The world will be watching closely to see how Saudi Arabia wields this potent new weapon in the years ahead. It’s also another indication of the growing global scramble over AI supremacy, as countries and companies race to secure access to the most advanced AI hardware and workers.
The ramifications of that blockbuster alliance are myriad — and will shape, for good or ill, the future of AI in development and use in the Middle East and elsewhere. The value of the investment reflects Saudi Arabia’s long-term goal of growth in AI adoption and application across all parts of the economy, and becoming a global leader in AI. This could also spur additional investments and partnerships in the region as other nations pursue the game- changing opportunity that is artificial intelligence.
