Data and digital consulting firm Artefact expands to Saudi Arabia

Artefact, the global data and digital consulting company, is strengthening its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with a new office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The company has been operating in the region from its base in Dubai, UAE, since 2013, working with private and public sector clients on their data and AI-led transformation programmes. Its key offerings include data vision and strategy, the ‘AI factory’ (for the launch and scaling up of AI programmes), big data platform implementation, data governance and data marketing programmes. It also has global partnerships with big data infrastructure providers and data platforms, including Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

Artefact’s new office in Saudi Arabia will include operations in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It will also invest in local talent to develop the varied skill sets needed for the next-generation AI-driven economies, with roles including consultants, data scientists, big data engineers and machine learning (ML) engineers, and data architects.

Rahul Arya, managing partner of Artefact MENA, said: “As the kingdom of Saudi Arabia looks to a new and exciting phase in its growth led by economic and social transformation, this is an inspiring time for Artefact to strengthen our on-ground presence there. It will be one of our key focus markets in the years to come, and we are committed to making significant investments that will bring our cutting edge workforce and data and technology-led innovations to our clients and partners in the kingdom. We see plenty of potential for our data and AI expertise as public, and private sector enterprises look to accelerate their journeys to realise their new visions.”

Vincent Luciani, co-founder and CEO of Artefact, added: “Thanks to its rapidly expanding economy, Saudi Arabia is a serious proposition for any growing global business, and Artefact is delighted to be firming up its foothold in the country. With our global expertise and years of relevant experience, combined with our knowledge of the region, we expect to become partners with several clients in the kingdom as they undertake their data and AI transformation journeys.”

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s big data and artificial intelligence (AI) market was valued at $164.98m in 2020. This is expected to reach $891.74m by 2026, registering an annual growth of 32.6 per cent over five years.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategic framework is responsible for much of this growth. With business and governance transformation at its core, data, technology, and AI will help public and private sector organisations across business sectors realise a new way of working. Around 70 per cent of Vision 2030s 96 strategic goals relate to data and AI, with AI expected to contribute over $135.2bn to the kingdom’s economy by 2030, the equivalent of 12.4 per cent of GDP.

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