SDAIA

What SDAIA does

SDAIA (Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority) is the statutory authority responsible for data and AI governance in Saudi Arabia, operating under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and led by President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi. The authority executes the National Data and AI Strategy aligned with Vision 2030 and serves as the central policy, infrastructure, and capability body for public-sector AI adoption across 193 consolidated government entities.

The authority's product portfolio is anchored on sovereign infrastructure and Arabic-first AI assets. The Hexagon-1 Data Center in Riyadh is the world's largest government-operated Tier IV facility at 480MW across 30 million square feet, hosting the DEEM Government Cloud that consolidates data from 193 government entities. Core AI capabilities include ALLaM 34B, an Arabic large language model trained on over 500 billion Arabic data units, the Falak platform with 2.2 billion linguistic and vocal words (King Salman Global Language Center), and the National Data Lake integrating 440+ government systems with 85+ terabytes of data from 90+ entities. AI talent is built through SDAIA Academy's Applied AI Bootcamp and a newly mandated National Cross-Disciplinary Curriculum in Data and AI, signed with 14 public and private universities, alongside AI education for 6 million K-12 students.

SDAIA does not operate a commercial revenue model; it is financed through sovereign government channels and acts as a regulator, infrastructure operator, and ecosystem builder. Flagship technology partnerships include NVIDIA (sovereign AI factory with up to 5,000 Blackwell GPUs), AWS ($5.3B AI Zone), AMD ($10B), Google Cloud (Dammam hub), and Microsoft Azure ($2.1B). The authority has issued 32 regulatory tools in data and 13 in AI governance, and in 2026 was designated the lead executor of the national Year of Artificial Intelligence program. Customer concentration is structurally total to the Saudi government, with selected international engagement via events such as SuperAI 2026 in Singapore.

Name

SDAIA

Legal name

الهيئة السعودية للبيانات والذكاء الاصطناعي (SDAIA) - Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority

Website

https://sdaia.gov.sa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

SDAIA is the Saudi Arabian government authority for data and AI governance and sovereign infrastructure, operating Hexagon (world's largest government Tier IV data center), the DEEM government cloud, the ALLaM 34B Arabic LLM, and national AI/curriculum programs serving 193 government entities under Vision 2030.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

National AI and Data Governance Platform

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Strategy & Governance Services (BPAEAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI Privacy Engineering & Data Governance (PII, consent, retention) (HDAAAKAB), Documentation & Reporting Automation (Model Cards, Datasheets, Impact Assessments) (HDAAAMAJ), IT Operations Management (ITOM) Platforms (HDAEALAC), Model Transparency, Explainability & Interpretability (XAI) (HDAAAMAB)

Keywords

• National AI governance
• Government cloud infrastructure
• Sovereign data platforms
• Arabic language AI models
• Data regulation frameworks

Headquarters

HQ city

Riyadh

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SDAIA is Saudi Arabia's national data and AI authority, delivering sovereign AI infrastructure, Arabic language models, and data governance frameworks. Its portfolio includes the Hexagon Data Center (480MW Tier IV), the DEEM Government Cloud used by 193 government entities, the ALLaM 34B Arabic language model, the National Data Lake integrating 440+ government systems, the Falak Arabic linguistics platform, and the Data Openness Platform publishing 18,500+ open datasets. It also runs AI workforce development via SDAIA Academy and a mandatory national university AI curriculum.

Product overview

SDAIA (Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority) operates as Saudi Arabia's national AI authority overseeing the National Data and AI Strategy. The organization manages a portfolio of interconnected products: the Hexagon Data Center serves as the sovereign infrastructure backbone (Tier IV, 480MW), supporting the DEEM Government Cloud which consolidates data from 193 government entities. Core AI offerings include the ALLaM 34B Arabic large language model and the Falak platform for Arabic language processing. Data infrastructure comprises the National Data Lake (440+ integrated government systems) and the Data Openness Platform (18.5K open datasets). Talent development is handled through SDAIA Academy's Applied AI Bootcamp and the National Cross-Disciplinary Curriculum for universities. All initiatives support Vision 2030 digital transformation goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DEEM Government Cloud: National government cloud platform consolidating data from 193 government entities, supporting national data sovereignty and digital government services.
• SDAIA Academy
• ALLaM 34B
• Hexagon Data Centre

Products and services

• Hexagon Data Center World's largest government-operated Tier IV data center with 480MW capacity covering 30 million square feet in Riyadh, hosting 290+ government systems to support the DEEM government cloud and national data sovereignty under Vision 2030.
• DEEM Government Cloud Sovereign government cloud platform that consolidates data from 193 Saudi government entities, enabling national data governance, digital government services, and AI-driven decision making across ministries and authorities.
• ALLaM 34B Arabic large language model developed domestically using 500+ billion Arabic data units for natural language processing and generation tasks targeted at Arabic-speaking users.
• Falak Platform National language platform containing 2.2 billion linguistic and vocal words for Arabic language processing, developed in partnership with the King Salman Global Arabic Language Complex.
• National Data Lake National data repository integrating 440+ government systems with 85+ terabytes of stored data from 90+ government entities for centralized data governance and AI applications.
• Data Openness Platform Open data platform hosting 18,500+ open datasets published by 337 government and private entities for public access, transparency, and downstream innovation.
• SDAIA Academy Applied AI Bootcamp Intensive AI upskilling bootcamp for working professionals in Saudi Arabia, covering machine learning, deep learning, and agentic AI systems, delivered by SDAIA Academy.
• National Cross-Disciplinary Curriculum in Data and AI Mandatory national AI and data curriculum for all undergraduates across disciplines, delivered in partnership with 14 Saudi public and private universities and launched at ICAN 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 42.4% increase in data center capacity between 2023-2024
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• SuperAI 2026minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026SDAIA is an institutional partner for SuperAI 2026, Asia's largest AI conference, expected to attract 10,000+ attendees from 150+ countries in Singapore.
• 14 Saudi UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026SDAIA signed MoUs with 14 public and private universities to establish frameworks for the National Cross-Disciplinary Curriculum in Data and AI, including King Saud University as host of ICAN 2026.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2025NVIDIA partnered with Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN to build AI factories with 18,000 GB300 Grace Blackwell systems and projected 500-megawatt buildout over five years. U.S. Department of Commerce authorized HUMAIN to purchase up to 35,000 NVIDIA GB300-equivalent chips in November 2025.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025NVIDIA partnered with SDAIA to deploy up to 5,000 Blackwell GPUs in a sovereign AI factory for national AI programs in Saudi Arabia.
• AWSflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025AWS committed $5.3 billion for a Saudi cloud region (AI Zone), representing major hyperscale cloud infrastructure investment.
• AMDflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025$10 billion collaboration with AMD for AI infrastructure development as part of Saudi Arabia's sovereign AI strategy.
• Google CloudflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Google Cloud establishing AI hub near Dammam as part of Saudi Arabia's cloud infrastructure expansion.
• MicrosoftflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Microsoft completed $2.1 billion in Azure data centers investment in Saudi Arabia, with Saudi Arabia East region available from Q4 2026.
• DataVoltcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025$5 billion partnership with DataVolt to build data centers at NEOM's Oxagon industrial zone.

Scale indicators25 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UAE Artificial Intelligence Office: UAE's national AI policy authority overseeing federal AI strategy, digital infrastructure, and government AI adoption. Most directly comparable to SDAIA in mandate and Gulf-region context, both pursuing sovereign AI infrastructure and national AI strategies.
• HUMAIN: Saudi Arabia's PIF-backed AI investment company ($100B commitment) launched February 2025, focused on compute, data centers, AI applications and partnerships. Direct Saudi peer sharing infrastructure mission with SDAIA, including joint NVIDIA partnerships.
• G42 (UAE): UAE-based AI and cloud computing company with sovereign backing, operating national-scale AI infrastructure and Arabic-language models. Closest commercial counterpart to SDAIA's sovereign AI factory approach in the Gulf.
• UK AI Safety Institute: UK government body for AI safety evaluation and policy research. Comparable as a national AI authority responsible for regulation, model evaluation, and international AI policy coordination — though focused on safety rather than infrastructure.
• IndiaAI Mission: India's national AI program under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, focused on compute infrastructure, AI research, and India-specific datasets. Comparable in mandate (sovereign AI infrastructure, national datasets, AI talent pipeline) and emerging-market positioning.
• AI Singapore: Singapore's national AI program advancing AI research, innovation, and adoption across government and industry. Comparable in scale and national-AI-hub ambition, though smaller in compute footprint than SDAIA.

Broad incumbents

• European AI Office: EU body within the European Commission implementing the EU AI Act and coordinating AI policy across member states. Comparable as a multi-country regulatory authority for AI governance and policy alignment.

Emerging players

• KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology): Saudi national research institution operating Shaheen-3 (the fastest GCC supercomputer) and contributing to Saudi AI R&D. Comparable as a Saudi-aligned entity advancing AI compute and research capacity, with overlapping infrastructure footprint.
• DataVolt: Saudi-based data center developer partnering with SDAIA on a $5B NEOM Oxagon data center buildout. Comparable as a sovereign-aligned compute infrastructure provider, though operating as a private commercial entity rather than government authority.

Regional players

• National Cybersecurity Authority (Saudi NCA): Saudi government authority responsible for cybersecurity policy, regulation, and national cyber infrastructure. Comparable as a domestic Saudi regulatory authority operating in adjacent national infrastructure domains with similar governance structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sdaia_sa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SDAIA