Saudi Arabia Advances AI Development, Ranks High in Global Readiness
Saudi Arabia is making significant strides in artificial intelligence (AI) development and governance, positioning itself as a key contributor to the global technological landscape. By 2025, the Kingdom had developed eight large language models, with five recognized as world-leading, placing Saudi Arabia third globally in cutting-edge AI model development. This includes the national model "ALLaM" and 58 locally developed AI applications. The country also created the "BALSAM" benchmark, in collaboration with over 10 institutions, to evaluate 20 Arabic language models. This progress is reflected in its global rankings: 15th out of 195 countries in the 2025 Oxford Government AI Readiness Index and 19th in the 2025 Stanford AI Index Report. The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) highlights a strategic shift from technology adoption to indigenous innovation, emphasizing human capital development and computing infrastructure. Alongside technical expansion, SDAIA is implementing a phased AI governance approach, ...
