Why Amazon, Google, others are racing to Saudi Arabia to build the future of AI

Planning a trip to Saudi Arabia? Be prepared to face long traffic as you might land behind the long queue of tech executives, engineers and sales representatives from Amazon, Google, TikTok and other companies on their way to make friends with Saudi Arabia. But Why? Experts believe that billions of dollars in Saudi money can help to build a tech industry to complement its oil dominance.

On a Monday morning last month, people endured a three-hour traffic jam as their cars headed towards a mammoth conference at an event space in the desert, 50 miles outside Riyadh. However, to skip the congestion, frustrated event goers drove onto the highway shoulder.