Saudi tech firm Alat invests in manufacturing, AI as part of $100 B plans

Saudi Arabia’s new $100 billion investment firm, Alat, announced several deals Tuesday aimed at transforming the Gulf country into a global leader in AI, industrials and manufacturing.

The technology firm, wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), plans to invest $100 billion by 2030 to coincide with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan to wean the kingdom’s economy off of its reliance on oil, by increasing revenue streams from other sectors such as manufacturing, green energy and sports. Prince Mohammed established Alat on Feb. 1.

SoftBank partnership

One announcement was Alat’s partnership with SoftBank Group, which will see the two businesses invest up to $150 million to establish a fully automated manufacturing and engineering hub in Riyadh, a company statement said. The hub will build robots developed by SoftBank and its partners, with the first factory due to open in December.