The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has signed three strategic local and international partnerships aimed at strengthening collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI), urban innovation, and industrial transformation.
The partnerships are designed to drive advanced technological innovation, enhance the knowledge-based economy, and accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge technologies across Saudi cities and industries, supporting the goals of Vision 2030.
The first partnership, which was signed on the sidelines of the International Conference on Data and AI Capacity Building (ICAN2026) between KACST, acting in its capacity as the national lab and innovation parks, and the Madinah Regional Municipality, establishes a cooperation framework.
Under the partnership, KACST will serve as a research and advisory entity for the municipality’s Urban Lab project, contributing to the development of innovative solutions to urban challenges, enhancing quality of life, and supporting the replication and scaling of successful models across cities in the Kingdom.
On industrial transformation, KACST signed a trilateral strategic partnership with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) and Rockwell Automation.
The partnership aims to support Saudi Arabia’s transformation into a leading industrial power and a global logistics hub by advancing applied scientific research, localizing advanced industrial technologies, strengthening national capabilities, and accelerating the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) across key industrial sectors.
KACST further strengthened Saudi–Korean cooperation in artificial intelligence through a strategic partnership with NAVER Cloud Corporation. The partnership aims to develop an Arabic-supported large language model (LLM), enabling advanced Arabic content and applications across scientific and technological fields, and reinforcing the Kingdom’s role as a regional hub for AI and digital innovation.
