Aramco EVP of technology & innovation Ahmad Al-Khowaiter during the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Credit: Saudi Arabian Oil.

Saudi Arabian energy giant Aramco has announced a series of new initiatives aimed at bolstering digital development within its operations.  

These initiatives, unveiled at the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, include partnerships and the deployment of an AI supercomputer. 

At the summit, Aramco signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Cerebras Systems and FuriosaAI to explore supercomputing and AI collaboration.  

Another MOU with Rebellions aims to potentially deploy Neural Processing Unit chips in Aramco’s data centres, enhancing digital infrastructure and AI innovation. 

Additionally, an MOU with SambaNova Systems was signed to accelerate AI capabilities and adoption across the kingdom.  

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Aramco has also introduced an AI supercomputer, one of the region’s first, powered by NVIDIA GPUs (graphics processing units), to expedite complex tasks such as geological data and drilling plan analysis. 

In collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Aramco is deploying industrial generative AI solutions to improve facility monitoring, predictive maintenance and autonomous drone usage.  

These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to integrate advanced digital solutions into Aramco’s business model. 

This strategy includes the Saudi Accelerated Innovation Lab and the Global AI Corridor ecosystem.  

Aramco said the efforts have led to the development of Aramco’s first large language model for industrial AI applications and the Eye on AI Programme for AI cybersecurity governance. 

Aramco EVP of Technology & Innovation Ahmad Al-Khowaiter said: “New digital technologies such as Generative AI and the Industrial Internet of Things are expected to transform not only how we work but also our commercial environment.  

“Aramco is pioneering the use of these technologies at an industrial scale to add significant value across our operations. Our history of innovation inspires us to continue harnessing emerging technologies and help realise the kingdom’s ambitions to become a global AI leader.” 

Last month, Aramco and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) entered into an MOU.  

Over the next ten years, Aramco will invest $100m (R375m) in R&D with KAUST, focusing on energy transition, sustainability, materials innovation, upstream technologies and digital solutions to achieve commercially viable outcomes.