RIYADH: Leaders in Saudi Arabia’s technology industry highlighted the Kingdom’s growing ambitions in artificial intelligence during an event in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The Oracle AI World Tour Riyadh brought together senior Saudi government officials, business leaders, technology decision-makers, developers and innovators to explore how AI is transforming industries, accelerating economic diversification and enabling organizations to innovate securely and at scale.
The one-day conference highlighted advances in AI-powered cloud infrastructure, databases and enterprise applications, positioning AI as a key driver of digital transformation and economic growth in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Saud Al-Sheraihi, vice president of digital solutions at stc, spoke to Arab News at the event about the strong demand for digital solutions across Saudi Arabia, noting the rapid growth of the Kingdom’s digital economy.
“Saudi Arabia is among the highest globally in digital growth. The digital economy now contributes more than 16 percent of GDP, and the ambition is to position the Kingdom as a global hub for digital and AI innovation,” he said.
Richard Smith, executive vice president of technology for Oracle in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, added that the event reflected Oracle’s long-standing commitment to the Kingdom and its expanding role in the regional AI ecosystem.
“Oracle has been working in Saudi Arabia for many years, and we are absolutely delighted with our partnerships here,” Smith said. “We have made significant financial investments in the region, more than $14 billion, as part of our long-term growth strategy.”
Smith said AI had moved beyond experimentation and was now focused on delivering measurable business outcomes. “Organizations are no longer asking whether AI works. They are looking for real return on investment, and that is where cloud, data and AI come together.”
He added that AI adoption in Saudi Arabia was accelerating across government, telecommunications and enterprise sectors, driven by demand for secure, compliant and locally hosted cloud solutions.
“Data sovereignty and security have always been fundamental to Oracle. Working closely with partners such as stc, we are ensuring that data remains within the Kingdom while delivering advanced cloud and AI capabilities.”
The Saudi government has initiated plans to invest more than $40 billion in AI by 2030, expecting to double this figure in coming years.
Reham Al-Musa, vice president of cloud applications for the public sector and country leader for Oracle Saudi Arabia, said the event supported the Kingdom’s ambitions to become a global AI hub.
“Saudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most influential AI economies, with artificial intelligence acting as a major catalyst for boosting innovation, improving citizen services and enhancing the competitiveness of Saudi Arabia’s human capital,” she said.
“Oracle AI World Tour Riyadh provided a platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange and real-world innovation, helping Saudi organizations accelerate AI adoption in ways that are secure, scalable and aligned with national priorities under Vision 2030.”
Through executive keynotes and technical lab sessions, attendees examined how AI and cloud technologies were increasingly converging to enable faster innovation, stronger security and data-driven decision-making across sectors.
Breakout sessions explored AI adoption in government, telecommunications, finance, supply chain, human resources and customer experience.
The Solution Zone allowed participants to engage directly with experts, explore live demonstrations and examine use cases showing how AI was being applied across industries.
