Saudi investment fund integrates AI across all operations

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is worth almost $1 trillion, has said that artificial intelligence and automation have become integrated into every aspect of the organisation, reflecting a technological shift in the country’s investment approach, according to Reuters on August 13th. 

This technological change represents a wider national drive to incorporate advanced technologies into Saudi Arabia’s economy and to move the region’s financial focus away from oil towards data-driven algorithms. Other oil-dependent Gulf states are also diversifying into AI development, such as Microsoft’s AI investments and partnership in the UAE.

In the PIF’s annual report of last year, the sovereign wealth fund said AI is playing a central role in changing how the fund makes decisions, distributes capital, and assesses value. 

Based on the report, the fund’s assets totalled $912.6 billion (3.424 trillion riyals) at the end of last year, which is less than the 4.321 trillion riyals reported in June.

PIF claimed that its AI-powered valuation platform improves the accuracy and efficiency of its private market investment evaluations. It has also built an extensive language model for live investment reporting and is using AI tools to evaluate asset managers and enhance its portfolio. 

This shift appears to align with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan, aiming to assert his country’s technological independence and to diversify its economy away from a reliance on public equities and infrastructure. The Saudi government has spent billions in giga-projects such as NEOM, a city on the Red Sea, and strategic sectors in general such as tourism, clean energy and logistics. 

Saudi Arabia’s future-focused foreign investments could work as a tactic to sway global opinions of the country, despite significant human rights concerns. Nevertheless, in recent years, its fund has snapped up major stakes in global giants like Uber, Lucid Motors, and Nintendo, while supporting high-profile sports ventures including LIV Golf and Newcastle United.

Saudi Arabia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Morocco on June 16th, which indicated its intention to compete with the UAE as a regional investor, by deepening environmentally-conscious and sustainable development. The plans included supportive legal frameworks and scientific collaboration from forest management, desertification control, to climate change adaptation. Saudi Arabia already has a wind and solar power presence in Morocco.

What’s more, Saudi Arabia signed $6.4 billion worth of investment and partnership agreements on July 24th, to support Syria’s post-conflict recovery. 

Reuters, Maghrebi.org