Saudi Arabia ranks among the world’s leading countries for artificial intelligence talent growth and advanced model development, according to a new study by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA).
The report reviewed the Kingdom’s AI progress across regulation, investment, infrastructure, data, talent, research and government adoption. Saudi Arabia ranked third globally for AI talent growth in the 2026 Stanford HAI Index, and third globally and first regionally for developing leading AI models in the 2025 index. It also ranked fifth globally for AI sector growth in the 2025 Observer Index.
Domestic data center capacity grew 115.8% between 2023 and 2025. The country had nine hyperscale cloud regions by mid-2026, while the Shaheen III supercomputer led the GCC in the 2026 TOP500 ranking.
The National Data Lake had integrated 515 government systems and 5.87 petabytes of data from more than 90 government entities. Saudi Arabia also developed eight large language models and 58 specialized AI applications, according to the study.
On talent, more than 69,300 technical graduates entered the market between 2021 and 2025, helping drive a 15% compound annual growth rate in domestic AI talent density. The study said 90% of public entities had an AI strategy, while 97% were deploying or developing AI tools.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
