National Strategy for Data and AI

The National Strategy for Data and AI, known by its Arabic abbreviation 'Nusdi', is a national strategy announced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), on 21 October 2020, corresponding to 04 Rabi' al-Awwal 1442 AH, during the opening days of the first edition of the Global AI Summit hosted by Riyadh on 21 and 22 October 2020, following the gracious approval of its adoption.[1][3]

The strategy represents a national framework that places the Kingdom at the centre of shaping the future of data and AI at both the national and global levels, and enables the public and private sectors to contribute to the outcomes of Saudi Vision 2030.[1] The strategy is supervised by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), which was established by a royal order in 1440 AH to be the national reference for everything related to data and AI in terms of regulation, development and handling.[4]

The gracious approval of the strategy's adoption was issued on 09 August 2020, corresponding to 19 Dhu al-Hijjah 1441 AH, and its official launch was then announced on 21 October 2020, corresponding to 04 Rabi' al-Awwal 1442 AH.[3][1]

On this occasion, the President of SDAIA, Dr Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, extended thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for the strategy's contribution to enabling government and private programmes and sectors towards achieving the outcomes of Saudi Vision 2030.[3]

The strategy's vision is 'Where we make the best of data and AI a reality', and it is built on six main dimensions.[1][2]

The first dimension reinforces the Kingdom's position as a global centre for enabling the best data and AI technologies, the second develops the workforce by building a sustainable resource of local talent in the field, and the third builds a legislative environment that is more encouraging for specialised companies and talent.[2]

The fourth dimension concerns attracting effective and stable financing for outstanding investment opportunities, the fifth concerns enabling the best specialised research institutions to lead innovation and maximise the intended impact, and the sixth concerns stimulating the adoption of data and AI technologies through a more ready and forward-looking ecosystem.[2]

By 2030, the strategy aims to reach the top 15 countries in AI, the top 10 countries in open data, and the top 20 countries in contribution to scientific publications.[2]

Its targets include building a sustainable talent resource of more than 20,000 specialists and experts, attracting investments in the field of about 75 billion riyals, and contributing to the creation of more than 300 startups.[2]

AI is expected to add more than 500 billion riyals to the Kingdom's gross domestic product by 2030, equivalent to 12.4%, with the value of the data and AI economy estimated at about 15 to 20 billion riyals, and an opportunity to achieve additional revenues approaching 40 billion riyals.[5]

The strategy's directions up to 2030 focus on priority sectors: education, health, the government sector, transport and mobility, and energy, seeking to consolidate the Kingdom's position as a centre of specialisation and excellence, and a station for building global competitive capabilities from which it advances towards leadership.[1]

SDAIA established the National Data Bank, which merged and unified more than 80 government datasets, equivalent to about 30% of government digital assets, and carried out the Government Cloud project, which brought together 83 government data centres with more than 40 government entities to build one of the region's largest clouds.[5]

On 03 February 2022, SDAIA announced the launch of the Open Data Programme in cooperation with a number of government entities, to increase transparency, promote innovation and support the targets of Saudi Vision 2030.[6]

On 27 November 2023, SDAIA, in partnership with the National Transformation Program, launched the first national data index, 'Nudhi', together with the upgraded version of the Open Data Platform and the Data Governance Platform; the index covers 14 areas of data management through three main components: a survey measuring the maturity of data management, measurement of compliance with the controls and specifications of national data management, and measurement of operational indicators.[7]

On 14 September 2022, the Kingdom launched the AI Ethics Principles, prepared by SDAIA for public consultation, which include integrity and fairness, security and privacy, humanity, social and environmental benefits, reliability and safety, transparency and explainability, and accountability and responsibility.[8]

On 11 July 2024, SDAIA obtained accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 'ISO 42001:2023', concerning AI management systems, as the first entity in the world to receive this accreditation.[9]

The Kingdom ranked first in the world in the Government AI Strategy index within the Global AI Index issued by Tortoise Intelligence, which measures more than 60 countries, scoring 100% across the index's criteria; this was announced on 01 July 2023.[4]

On 08 April 2025, the Stanford AI Index 2025 was released, in which the Kingdom ranked first in the world for women's empowerment in AI, third in the growth rate of AI jobs for 2024, fourth in the number of leading AI models, and eighth in attracting AI talent.[10]

Q: What is the National Strategy for Data and AI? A: It is a national strategy announced by the Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), on 21 October 2020 during the first edition of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, following the gracious approval of its adoption on 09 August 2020.[1][3]

Q: What is the strategy's vision and the dimensions it is built on? A: Its vision is 'Where we make the best of data and AI a reality', and it is built on six dimensions: a global centre for data and AI technologies, building local talent, an encouraging legislative environment, attracting financing, enabling research institutions, and stimulating adoption.[1][2]

Q: What are the strategy's most prominent targets up to 2030? A: Reaching the top 15 countries in AI, the top 10 countries in open data, and the top 20 countries in scientific publications, building a resource of more than 20,000 specialists and experts, attracting investments of about 75 billion riyals, and creating more than 300 startups.[2]

Q: What are the priority sectors in the strategy? A: Education, health, the government sector, transport and mobility, and energy.[1]

Q: What are the Kingdom's most prominent international achievements in this field? A: First place in the world in the Government AI Strategy index with 100% across the index's criteria, accreditation of 'ISO 42001:2023' as the first entity in the world to receive it, together with advanced rankings in the Stanford AI Index 2025.[4][9][10]

The National Strategy for Data and AI 'Nusdi' extends from its launch in 2020 to its targets up to 2030, resting on six dimensions and defined national targets, with achievements realised in the national data infrastructure, governance and international standing.[1][2][4]