Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia's AI-native startups are outperforming their regional and global peers across key business metrics, according to a new report released by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in partnership with Strand Partners.
The report, titled "Engines of Growth: Saudi Arabia", found that Saudi AI-native startups—defined as companies less than five years old that have built their products around artificial intelligence—are delivering exceptional performance. On average, these startups are achieving 150% annual revenue growth, nearly matching the global AI-native average while significantly exceeding the broader Saudi startup ecosystem.
The study also found that Saudi AI-native startups are 4.9 times more likely to generate more than $1 million in annual revenue than the average startup in the Kingdom.
Among the surveyed companies, 72% have a comprehensive AI strategy, 48% are already using AI in production environments, and 89% reported measurable productivity improvements from AI adoption.
The report attributes this performance to strong investment in proprietary AI capabilities, widespread cloud adoption, and the use of AI beyond core products into business functions such as research, development, digital simulation, and customer operations.
AWS said 63% of Saudi AI-native startups have developed their own AI models or capabilities, while 98% rely on cloud infrastructure to support rapid scaling, highlighting the Kingdom's growing position as a regional hub for AI-driven innovation.
