Saudi Arabia's commercial registrations in artificial intelligence reached 24,552 records, up 31% since 2025 and the fastest growth among Vision 2030 sectors, according to Ministry of Commerce data. Cybersecurity registrations reached 11,275, up 22%, virtual and augmented reality 13,853, up 21%, and e-commerce 52,241, up 9%, with the Kingdom having designated 2026 its Year of Artificial Intelligence.
A registration serves as a licence rather than a business. The fact that 24,552 registrations are increasing at a rate of 31% indicates that intent is developing much more rapidly than actual capability.
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Services Are The New Engine
PIF signed an MoU with ISquared Capital for up to $2bn, roughly $1bn each into digital infrastructureand district cooling, the unglamorous enablers behind real estate and datacenters
The takeaway: $1bn into digital infrastructure is a wager on compute demand; anyone in power, land, or connectivity near Riyadh should price a data-center boom into their plans.
What the 49% ceiling costs
Morgan Stanley estimates that raising Saudi Arabia's 49% foreign ownership ceiling to 75% would draw about $4.3 billion in passive inflows, and that removing the cap entirely would draw about $7.4 billion. Saudi Arabia is the last major Gulf market keeping a blanket 49% limit.
The difference between $4.3 billion and $7.4 billion represents the cost of fully removing the cap. Most passive funds are released when the ceiling is eliminated, rather than when it is raised to 75%.
765,000 came for the falcons
The Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2026 closed after receiving 765,000 visitors in 10 days at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham, with 1,450 exhibitors and brands on 200,000 square metres. A Mongolian falcon sold for SAR 1.4 million, the highest price in the auction's history, and auction sales exceeded SAR 7 million; the Al-Malwah race carried SAR 723,000 in prizes.
765,000 visitors alongside a single SAR 1.4 million falcon shows the exhibition serves a mass audience and a high-spending niche at the same time.
