Saudi Arabia’s AI Visionary Dr Khulood Almani Drives $135B Tech Revolution

Editorial Team

Last updated 15-04-2025

4 min

Dr Khulood Almani is transforming Saudi Arabia's tech landscape with AI innovation and sustainability.

As CEO of HKB Tech, she's advancing digital transformation and supporting tech startups.

HKB Tech's Saudi AI Centre of Excellence promotes cutting-edge research with partners like Google and NVIDIA.

Dr Almani advocates for ethical AI standards, privacy, and transparent governance in the tech sector.

Saudi Arabia is investing $100 billion in AI, boosting the economy and creating new job opportunities.

Saudi Arabia’s rising AI star, Dr Khulood Almani, is swiftly gaining recognition for reshaping the tech landscape through a strong emphasis on AI innovation and sustainability. As founder and CEO of HKB Tech, her visionary leadership is making waves, aligning impressively with Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 plans.

With a remarkable background that includes teaching at King Saud University and a prestigious role as the UN Ambassador for Women Empowerment, Peace, and Humanity, Dr Almani brings vast experience and passion to her innovative work. Her roles span widely—from representing the Kingdom as Senator at the G20-World Business Angels Investment Forum, heading up G100-Women Economic Forum's Saudi chapter, to co-founding Forward Angel Investment, a significant fund that backs digital entrepreneurs globally.

Dr Almani established HKB Tech as a forward-thinking branch of the respected Bin Dayel Group, keenly focused on advancing digital transformation and championing artificial intelligence in Saudi Arabia. Grounded in a deep commitment to sustainable entrepreneurship, HKB Tech is swiftly becoming a prominent force fostering Saudi Arabia’s startups and SMEs within the digital sector.

It’s been remarkable to watch how quickly AI has moved from futuristic fantasy to being a cornerstone of Saudi’s strategic growth. With a government commitment of a whopping $100 billion, the nation is taking tangible steps toward becoming a global AI hub. By 2030, AI alone is expected to boost the Kingdom’s GDP by more than $135 billion, reinforcing why supporting tech startups is such a crucial move.

One standout initiative from Dr Almani’s HKB Tech is the Saudi AI Centre of Excellence—a state-of-the-art hub fostering cutting-edge research and development, complete with initiatives to patent novel AI technologies. Key partnerships with tech giants like Google, AWS, and NVIDIA mean start-ups can tap into advanced expertise and tools, essential for successful projects. Even more impressively, joining NVIDIA’s renowned AI Inception Programme positions HKB alongside heavyweight innovators such as OpenAI—a solid indicator of HKB’s growing prowess.

Yet, with great technological leaps apparantly comes significant responsibility. Dr Almani is candid about the challenges, particularly concerning data privacy, ethical AI use, and sustainability concerns. She regularly advocates frameworks to strengthen AI governance and promote transparency, including fostering ethical and culturally appropriate AI standards.

She rightly points out the urgency for a coherent national AI regulatory approach. Ensuring ethical guidelines, transparency, and explainability—particularly in sensitive sectors like healthcare and finance—will be paramount. Exploring regional and global best practices, Dr Almani promotes the adoption of explainable AI (XAI), helping maintain trust and confidence among the public and policymakers alike.

Furthermore, there’s an evident drive to bolster technological readiness across the kingdom via collaborations like Aramco-Pasqal and partnerships with international tech leaders like IBM and Google. Investment into energy-efficient data centres and promising technologies such as hybrid quantum-classical computing is setting the stage for exciting advancements in Saudi Arabia’s tech ecosystem.

Of course, every tech shift faces cultural resistance—particularly from those worried about potential job disruption. It’s reassuring to hear studies from bodies like the World Economic Forum, predicting the net creation of numerous new jobs thanks to AI growth. Still, as Arageek readers rightly know, education and upskilling are paramount. Dr Almani strongly supports inclusive education programmes and public campaigns designed to help overcome reservations about AI adoption.

Ultimately, Dr Almani’s focus remains clear—develop a localised, culturally sensitive regulatory framework, foster strong educational paths, and invest in human capital. These crucial steps could see Saudi Arabia leading not only within the Middle East but on the global AI stage. If managed responsibly and sustainably, this innovative drive could genuinely set Saudi Arabia comfortably ahead in the AI revolution.

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