Saudi Arabia partners with Nvidia to spur AI goals as Trump visits
U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Saudi Arabia announced partnerships on Tuesday as part of the kingdom's plans to develop artificial intelligence and strengthen cloud computing infrastructure with the help of foreign investment.
The deals coincide with U.S. President Donald Trump's Gulf tour, which is focused on economic diplomacy and billion-dollar business tie-ups rather than security concerns.
Saudi Arabia, which is seeking to make its economy less dependent on oil revenue, aims to position itself as a hub for AI and leading centre for AI activity outside the United States.
A joint statement from Nvidia and Saudi Arabia listed initiatives, including building AI factories and infrastructure and training developers, but did not give financial details.
"It marks a significant step toward positioning the Kingdom as a leader among data- and AI-driven economies," said Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, president of the Saudi Data & AI Authority, the kingdom's Public Investment Fund that focuses on AI.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday launched Humain, a company to develop and manage artificial intelligence technologies in Saudi Arabia.
(Reporting by Max A. Cherney; writing by Manya Saini; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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