Saudi Arabia's Artificial Intelligence breakthrough unfolds at Money20/20 conference
Singapore-based Dyna.Ai and Mastercard have announced the launch of their respective Agentic AI Suites, designed with Arabic capabilities, at the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh. These AI tools are intended to integrate into enterprise workflows, supporting compliance, customer service, and operational efficiency.
Dyna.Ai's AI Suite delivers over 95% accuracy with response times under 200 milliseconds, making it a promising solution for the Kingdom's growing demand for high-performance computing and faster data-processing capabilities. The company's tools were built with an understanding of Arabic dialects, cultural nuances, and Kingdom-specific regulatory requirements, setting them apart in the Saudi market.
The event, which attracted more than 450 fintech companies and over 1,050 global investors, serves as a stress test for companies like Dyna.Ai, to prove their solutions can meet Saudi-specific expectations for speed, accuracy, compliance, and cultural fit.
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 ambitions centre around AI, and the conversation around regulation, infrastructure, and talent has become urgent. The Kingdom is experiencing a shortage of AI specialists and data scientists, despite universities and training programs accelerating talent development. Regulators in the Kingdom, such as the Saudi Central Bank, are responding to the urgency by expanding sandbox programs and introducing clearer guidelines.
Khalid Al-Sharif, CEO of Abdul Latif Jameel Finance, emphasized the importance of coordination between regulators, financial institutions, and technology providers for the next stage of AI adoption in finance. The collaboration between regulators and the private sector is considered essential for balancing speed with safety in AI rollouts.
Regulatory certainty is still a developing area, with binding rules for algorithmic transparency, privacy, and bias mitigation yet to be fully developed. However, the event provides an opportunity for regulators and policymakers to gauge market readiness and identify where rules and infrastructure must catch up with innovation.
AI is increasingly embedded in various aspects of finance, including fraud detection, onboarding, risk modeling, and compliance. The Kingdom's efforts to modernise its financial ecosystem are evident with the launch of Google Pay in the Kingdom, expected Alipay+ acceptance by 2026, and a series of capital markets reforms.
The Saudi edition of Money20/20 Middle East showcased the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Kingdom's financial sector. The event, a platform for regulators, legacy banks, fintech startups, and investors to compare strategies and align on priorities, is a significant step towards the Kingdom's goal of a digitally transformed financial system. The Kingdom is projected to reap nearly $135.2 billion from AI by 2030, equivalent to about 12.4 percent of gross domestic product.
Moreover, the Kingdom's AI story is entering its execution phase, with the goal of a skilled workforce of 20,000 specialists by 2030 and billions of dollars in AI-driven GDP impact. Programs like Abdul Latif Jameel Finance's Bab Rizq Jameel Microfinance, which has issued loans to nearly 300,000 beneficiaries since 2004, with 81 percent of them being women, are key to this vision.
In conclusion, the Money20/20 Middle East conference serves as a testament to the rapid advancement of AI in Saudi Arabia's financial sector. The collaboration between regulators, financial institutions, and technology providers is crucial for the successful integration of AI, ensuring a balance between speed and safety in its rollout. The Kingdom's AI story is an exciting one, with the potential to transform its financial ecosystem and create significant economic impact.
