Center of Excellence
About the Center of
Excellence
The Center of Excellence for Generative AI (GenAI) is dedicated to placing Saudi Arabia at the forefront of AI research in the region and globally. Since its widespread rollout, GenAI has taken the world by storm through ease of access to various emerging applications such as Large Language Models (LLMs). GenAI is already on its way to transforming every aspect of our lives, and its adoption will be central to the future development of the Kingdom. To achieve this GenAI-powered future, the Center of Excellence for Generative AI has three primary objectives:
- To establish world-leading excellence in GenAI research by innovating the next generation of GenAI models endowed with properties needed for ubiquitous, efficient and trustworthy deployment.
- To specialize these models to enable solutions in all four of the Kingdom’s research, development and innovation pillars: Health and Wellness, Sustainability and Essential Needs, Energy and Industrial Leadership, and Economies of the Future.
- To deliver on the Kingdom’s ambitions to accelerate the adoption of GenAI by prioritizing translational research and talent development, accelerated by Center partners.
The Center will be the cornerstone for a vibrant GenAI ecosystem in the Kingdom that will sustain a flexible and effective model for onboarding partners and collaborators while meeting the aspirations of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 through its research, development and innovation pillars.
Welcome Message from the Chair
“The impact of GenAI on the global economy, society and research is potentially staggering. While it heralds a future where machines augment human ingenuity rather than replace it, this journey is not without scientific, technical, developmental or upskilling challenges. The Center of Excellence for Generative AI is focused on addressing these challenges to unleash the full potential of this technology in Saudi Arabia and the world through core GenAI advancements. This approach will unlock unprecedented innovation, talent and market value.”
Executive Committee and Leadership
Research and Translation Areas
Staying true to the crosscutting and interdisciplinary nature of GenAI, the Center's goal is structured into five research areas distributed in a hub-spoke model. The GenAI Factory acts as the hub that innovates and develops general-purpose GenAI models, which in turn fuel the development of specialized solutions for applications in each RDI spoke area: Health and Wellness, Sustainability and Essential Needs, Energy and Industrial Leadership, and Economies of the Future. This model works through closely aligned synergy and continuous interaction between the research focus areas, heavily leveraging the unique human and computational resources at KAUST and tightly complemented by Center partner feedback, use cases and collaboration.
Deployment, Training and Outreach
The Center will enable widespread adoption of GenAI technologies through deployment, training and outreach efforts. It will propel its applied research output to higher technical readiness levels through a well-designed GenAI deployment platform that can be easily used by nonexperts. Moreover, the Center will develop and deliver GenAI residency programs at KAUST (through Center partners) and GenAI training programs for local talent outside KAUST (in conjunction with the KAUST Academy), as well as disseminate GenAI awareness and consultancy through a variety of outreach activities with Center partners.
Partners and Supporters
The Center of Excellence for Generative AI remains active in expanding its partner consortium to
include organizations that align with its research, development, innovation and education agenda. The Center
is in regular discussions with its partners to develop opportunities for direct support, joint development
and training through the Center's research focus areas. We are committed to expanding this consortium
further with the goal of truly unlocking the potential of GenAI technology and driving local and global
impact through important real-world applications in health and wellness, sustainability, energy and
economies of the future.
News and Events
