Saudi Aramco is using LEAP 2026 to deepen its push into artificial intelligence and advanced digital technology.
The energy giant and Saudi Aramco Digital announced several new agreements in Riyadh on September 1. The deals involve leading technology companies and cover several areas. Industrial AI sits near the center of the strategy. Cybersecurity, innovation, and technology localization are also major priorities.
Aramco is already using AI across its industrial operations. Now, the company wants to take those systems further. That means moving from experiments toward AI that works reliably at industrial scale.
Aramco Signs New Technology Agreements at LEAP 2026
Saudi Aramco and Aramco Digital signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding during LEAP 2026. The partnerships involve major technology companies. They focus on industrial AI, cybersecurity, innovation, and critical technologies. Another goal is building stronger industrial capabilities inside Saudi Arabia. The agreements show that Aramco sees digital technology as more than an IT investment. It is becoming part of its wider industrial strategy.
Industrial AI Moves Deeper Into Aramco’s Operations
Aramco already uses AI across exploration, production, engineering, and maintenance. The company also applies it to workplace safety and operational reliability. Its systems can detect anomalies and recommend responses. Some workflows can also be automated. Aramco says its internal large language models handle millions of requests each day. Tens of thousands of employees already use those tools.
Cybersecurity Becomes Part of the AI Strategy
Industrial AI creates opportunities, but it also increases security demands. Aramco is treating cybersecurity as part of the foundation. Its CyberMind security system uses AI to automate investigations. According to Aramco, the platform processes more than a billion potential threats each year. AI-enabled monitoring is also helping the company resolve IT service problems faster. This matters as more autonomous systems enter industrial operations.
Amin Nasser Points to Saudi Arabia’s Digital Progress
Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser highlighted Saudi Arabia’s rapid digital development during LEAP 2026. He pointed to progress in digital infrastructure and the ICT sector. Nasser also described LEAP as a place where global ideas and partnerships can meet. Those connections could accelerate technology development across the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia now wants that momentum to support a larger AI economy.
Saudi Arabia Wants a Bigger Role in Global AI
Nasser believes Saudi Arabia has several advantages in the race for AI leadership. The Kingdom has infrastructure, investment capacity, partnerships, and a developing regulatory environment. It also has decades of experience operating complex industrial systems. Aramco can bring much of that experience into industrial AI. The opportunity is not limited to building software. Saudi Arabia wants to develop technology, expertise, and industrial capabilities at home.
Aramco Says Industrial AI Must Meet a Higher Standard
Consumer AI can impress users with speed or creativity. Industrial systems face a different test. They have to work where reliability and safety matter every day. Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s Executive Vice President of Technology and Innovation, made that point at LEAP. He said industrial AI needs intelligence, trust, and scale. An AI system cannot simply produce a convincing answer. It must perform reliably inside real operations.
Aramco Is Turning Huge Data Volumes Into AI Tools
Aramco’s operations generate more than 10 billion data points each day. They come from wells, refineries, pipelines, terminals, and laboratories. Raw data alone does not create much value. Aramco combines it with computing power and technical expertise. Engineers can then use AI models to support decisions. This gives the company an unusually large environment for testing industrial AI at scale.
The Company Is Already Reporting AI Value
Aramco says AI generated $1.8 billion in technology realized value during 2024. Its AI portfolio has also expanded quickly. By late 2025, the company had identified 442 AI use cases. More than 200 solutions had already been deployed. Another 100-plus were still under development. These systems cover areas ranging from drilling to operational efficiency.
Aramco Is Building an AI Startup Ecosystem Too
The company’s AI ambitions extend beyond its own operations. Aramco Ventures now has around $7.5 billion in allocated capital. Its portfolio includes roughly 300 startups worldwide. Most operate in digital technology or AI. Around 30 have reached unicorn status. About one-third of the portfolio companies also have an active presence in Saudi Arabia.
TecShift Could Bring More AI Startups to Dhahran
Aramco is also using its TecShift initiative to attract early-stage technology companies. The program targets startups from around the world. Aramco wants them to work with industrial partners in Dhahran. The idea is fairly practical. Startups gain access to serious industrial problems. Aramco gains another route for finding technologies that can move beyond demonstrations.
AI Partnerships Are Becoming Part of Aramco’s Wider Strategy
The LEAP announcements follow other AI partnerships signed by Aramco this year. In February, the company signed an MoU with Microsoft. That agreement covers industrial AI, digital infrastructure, cloud technology, and workforce development. It also explores AI engineering and data governance skills inside Saudi Arabia. Aramco Digital has pursued other collaborations involving industrial AI and digital twin technology.
LEAP 2026 Gives Aramco a Global Technology Stage
LEAP 2026 runs in Riyadh from August 31 through September 3. The event brings together technology companies, investors, policymakers, and researchers. More than 200,000 attendees were expected this year. Around 1,900 investors and 1,000 speakers were also set to participate. For Aramco, that makes LEAP useful for more than announcing agreements. It is also a place to find partners for its next wave of industrial AI projects.
Aramco’s AI Story Is Moving From Experimentation to Scale
The bigger story isn’t simply that an oil company signed several technology agreements.
Aramco wants AI embedded inside the machinery of a massive industrial business. That means drilling, maintenance, cybersecurity, engineering, and production. It also means systems that can increasingly take action rather than only offer advice.
That raises the stakes. Industrial AI has to be secure. It has to behave predictably. And it has to work across complex operations without becoming another isolated pilot.
LEAP 2026 gives Aramco another chance to build the partnerships needed for that shift. Saudi Arabia is betting heavily on AI. Aramco could become one of the places where that ambition meets the physical economy.
Sources
Asharq Al-Awsat — Saudi Aramco Boosts Innovation, Technological Collaboration at LEAP 2026
Read the article
Saudi Aramco — Remarks by Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter at LEAP 2026
Read Aramco’s LEAP 2026 remarks
