ALKHOBAR: Saudi Arabia’s artificial intelligence leadership is gaining international attention, with Chief AI Officers in the Kingdom now overseeing 67 percent of their organizations’ AI budgets, a figure that outpaces the global average of 61 percent, according to a new joint study by IBM and the Dubai Future Foundation.
The report, based on surveys from more than 600 CAIOs across 22 countries, reveals how Saudi Arabia is aligning with global best practices while carving out its own AI roadmap tied to Vision 2030.
One of the clearest signs of Saudi Arabia’s AI momentum is the strong executive backing CAIOs receive. A remarkable 83 percent of respondents in the Kingdom said they have broad C-suite support, while 67 percent enjoy direct support from their CEOs. The study highlights that such backing is a key driver of success for AI initiatives, and in Saudi Arabia, it appears to be translating into action.
The data also shows that 22 percent of organizations in the Kingdom have formally adopted the CAIO role, close to the global average of 26 percent. But what sets Saudi Arabia apart is its AI governance structure. Half of the surveyed companies in the Kingdom use a centralized or hub-and-spoke AI operating model, an approach shown to deliver up to 36 percent higher return on AI investments.
Saudi CAIOs also tend to come from data-rich backgrounds, with 75 percent saying their careers have been focused on data, compared to 73 percent globally. This suggests a strong national emphasis on technical capability and analytics.
However, the report also flagged a gap in internal talent development. Only 38 percent of CAIOs in Saudi Arabia were promoted from within their organizations, significantly below the global average of 57 percent. Addressing this could help foster long-term leadership pipelines in the Kingdom’s rapidly growing AI sector.
