Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia is moving steadily towards its goal of becoming a global hub for technology and innovation as several artificial intelligence (AI) and tech companies opened their headquarters in the Kingdom.

Vast Data, the global software maker specializing in managing AI’s massive data storage demands, relocated its headquarters from Dubai to Riyadh, triggered by the Kingdom’s commitment to funding tech advancement, Abdullah Al Gallaf, Country Manager of Vast Data in Saudi Arabia, stated in an interview with The Circuit.

He noted that relocating to Saudi Arabia will enable the company to foster partnerships and actively contribute to the Kingdom’s vision for the future.

“We see immense potential to contribute to the kingdom’s technological leap, particularly in sectors like healthcare, finance, and logistics, where AI-driven solutions can significantly improve efficiency and outcomes,” Al Gallaf said.

He noted that Vast Data forged partnerships with Saudi and global entities, including MBUZZ, Nvidia, Google Cloud, and AWS, to expand and solidify its presence in the Kingdom.

Similarly, other AI startups and companies, such as DXwand and SambaNova, chose the Kingdom as the next destination to expand their businesses, capitalizing on the incentives provided by the Kingdom to attract foreign companies.

Earlier this year, the Saudi Regional Headquarters (RHQ) Program entered into effect, mandating multinational corporations to have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom to start or expand their businesses there.

It is worth noting that the Saudi Ministry of Investment (MISA) issued 127 regional headquarters licenses during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, making a 477% increase compared to the same quarter of 2023.