Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a future hub for artificial intelligence and data centers, leveraging its energy advantage and oil wealth to attract global tech investment, Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih told Nikkei during a visit to Japan on Wednesday.
Al-Falih said the kingdom is channeling substantial resources into the AI sector through its state-backed fund, Humain, which launched in May. The fund has already partnered with U.S. giants including Nvidia and Amazon Web Services and aims to build 1.9 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2030.
Highlighting Saudi Arabia’s appeal to international investors, the minister pointed to its uniquely low energy costs, supported not only by cheap crude oil and natural gas but also by vast solar and wind resources. “The ambition of Saudi Arabia is to be invested in the entire value chain, from end to end,” Al-Falih told Nikkei, noting that ventures are being launched to explore large-scale semiconductor manufacturing.
Al-Falih expressed keen interest in Japanese industries, particularly gaming. He suggested that hosting online gaming platforms in Saudi Arabia would be cheaper and more efficient for distribution across the Middle East and Africa. He also extended invitations to financial institutions and software developers, positioning the kingdom as an investment destination for a broad range of digital sectors.
The minister stressed that Saudi Arabia seeks to deepen ties with Asian countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, India, and Southeast Asian nations, while continuing to collaborate with the U.S. “We don’t want to be just U.S.-centric,” he said. Citing the history of personal computers, which spread from the U.S. but were later manufactured in Asia, Al-Falih suggested a similar trajectory could unfold for AI.
Saudi Arabia’s strategy reflects a broader ambition to diversify its economy beyond oil and move into industries with global competitiveness. “AI is going to be a sector by itself, because it will generate revenue by selling services of compute and hosting the data centers,” Al-Falih explained. “But it also is a huge enabler for other sectors, whether it’s manufacturing, robotics, logistics, health care, or biotech.”
Japan is expected to play an important role in this effort. Al-Falih noted that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and Keidanren, Japan’s top business federation, will set up a framework to boost investment flows.
Looking ahead to Riyadh’s hosting of the 2030 World Expo, Al-Falih framed the event as a showcase for the country’s transformation. “Expo is the window from which to look at the kingdom, but think of the architecture around the window. Don’t be captivated by the window itself,” he said, adding that Saudi Arabia is learning from Japan’s preparations for the 2025 Osaka Expo.
