Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are racing to buy significant quantities of high-performance Nvidia chips. These chips are crucial for developing artificial intelligence (AI)software.
Saudi Arabia reportedly bought 3,000 of Nvidia’s H100 chips at $40,000 each, through the country’s public research institution, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology or (KAUST).
Hot on the Saudi’s heels, UAE also secured 1000’s of Nvidia chips. The country is also reportedly developing their very own open source large language model named Falcon.
According to a PwC report, the annual growth in the contribution of AI is expected to range between 20-34% per year across the region, with the fastest growth in the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia.
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Middle East financial sector to benefit the most from AI
The International Data Corporation reportedly found that the financial industry stood to gain the most from the AI boom in the Middle East and Africa regions.
“It’s estimated that 25% of all AI investment in the region predicted for 2021, or $28.3 million, will be spent on developing AI solutions. This is followed by public services, including education, healthcare, and the manufacturing sector,” reports PWC.
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AI benefits at a glance.
AI is expected to be a game changer in the global economy, with much value potential up for grabs. “We estimate that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the worldwide economy in 2030.” said PwC.
This is more than the current output of BRICS countries China and India combined. “Of this, $6.6 trillion is likely to come from increased productivity, and $9.1 trillion is expected to come from benefits to consumers.”
“We estimate that the Middle East will accrue 2% of the total global benefits of AI in 2030. This is equivalent to US$320 billion.”
But the largest gains (US$ 135.2 billion) are expected to accrue to the Saudi Arabia economy by 2030.
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US restricts Nvidia exports
While PwC expects China to lead the contributions of AI to GDP by 26% in 2030, behind north America at 14.5% – the Middle East region, specifically UAE and Saudi Arabia is predicated to lead by 13.6% and 12.4 percent respectively.
However, these projections are bound to change now that the United States have restricted exports of Nvidia AI chips to Middle East.
Nvidia is a Califonia-based multinational technology company and one of the world’s most profitable firms.
But the export ban is reportedly aimed at preventing foreign countries selling the software to China.
Read the full report.
