2026 is the Saudi ‘Year of AI’. SAMAI 2 launches with 11 ministries.
Insight N°037
6 May 2026
The Saudi Cabinet designated 2026 the ‘Year of AI’. The SAMAI 2 initiative (Saudi Arabia Mastering AI, second phase) launched in March 2026 with 11 ministries participating. The Saudi Data and AI Authority’s public consultation on a Responsible AI Policy closed on 3 May 2026, signalling an operational governance framework coming in the second half of the year.
Together the moves create a top-tier procurement window for credible international AI vendors.
What 11 ministries actively buying AI looks like
The 11 participating ministries cover health, education, transport, environment, energy, justice, interior, foreign affairs, plus the Royal Court and the Council of Ministers’ general secretariat. Each will run its own AI procurement programme under the SAMAI 2 framework, anchored by the central SDAIA capability and increasingly aligned with HUMAIN’s compute and model deployment infrastructure. For international AI vendors with sector-specialised offerings, the procurement entry points multiply.
Where international AI firms have credible positions
Mistral and H Company at the foundation model layer. Owkin in life sciences and health applications. Preligens in geospatial and defence-adjacent applications. LightOn for enterprise model deployment. The wider international applied-AI consultancy ecosystem (Sopra Steria, Capgemini, Atos plus the smaller specialists). The 11-ministry SAMAI 2 framework is one of the broadest sectoral AI procurement programmes globally in 2026, and the ecosystem is among the most technically credible to serve it.
What we do
audixintel structures the Saudi entry for international AI firms targeting SAMAI 2, HUMAIN partner roster, and individual ministry procurement. From the operating entity through the partner conversations across the AI ecosystem.
Sources
audixintel
Saudi market entry, made operational.