On October 30, 2024, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Google Cloud announced a strategic partnership to establish a new global artificial intelligence (AI) hub near Dammam, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The partnership, signed at the Future Investment Initiative 8th Edition (FII8), aims to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for AI and to grow the ICT sector by 50%. The AI hub is expected to create thousands of jobs and add $71 billion to Saudi Arabia's GDP over eight years. The partnership will also focus on developing AI programs for millions of students and professionals, and businesses can expect improved AI applications and data services. The partnership is subject to regulatory approvals and will feature joint research on Arabic language models and Saudi-specific AI applications.