Saudi Arabia is making a bold move to cement its position as a global AI powerhouse with a massive $1.5 billion investment in Silicon Valley-based AI startup Groq. Announced at LEAP 2025, the Kingdom’s premier technology conference, the investment aims to expand AI inference infrastructure and accelerate Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goal of creating a tech-driven economy.
Strengthening AI Capabilities in the Middle East
This strategic funding builds on Groq’s previous initiatives in the region, including the rapid deployment of the largest AI inference cluster in the Middle East in December 2024. The cluster, installed in just eight days, addresses the increasing global demand for AI computing power and supports the Kingdom’s growing tech ecosystem.
Groq operates from a data center in Dammam, offering cutting-edge AI inference solutions through its GroqCloud™ platform. With this latest investment, Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its commitment to becoming a regional leader in artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
AI Innovations Showcased at LEAP 2025
At LEAP 2025, Groq CEO Jonathan Ross joined Saudi Aramco CTO Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter and Tareq Almin to demonstrate real-time AI applications. These included advanced large language models (LLMs), Saudi Arabia’s homegrown AI model Allam, and text-to-speech solutions in both English and Arabic.
Ross emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating, “It’s an honor for Groq to support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. We are thrilled to collaborate with Saudi innovators to shape the future of AI.”
Saudi Arabia’s Growing AI Ambitions
By investing in AI infrastructure, Saudi Arabia is not only meeting the region’s rising demand for high-performance computing but also positioning itself as a global AI hub. With Groq’s advanced inference technology, enterprises and developers in Saudi Arabia will have access to cutting-edge AI solutions both via cloud and on-premise deployments.
This investment underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to leading AI innovation and signals a new era of technological advancements in the region.
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