Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) announced new initiatives to drive and reinforce advanced digital solutions across its operations, according to a press release.
The initiatives were unveiled during the Global AI Summit (GAIN), which kicked off on 10 September at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh.
Ahmad Al Khowaiter, Aramco EVP of Technology & Innovation, said: “New digital technologies such as Generative AI and the Industrial Internet of Things are expected to transform not only how we work, but also our commercial environment.”
During the Global AI Summit, Aramco penned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cerebras Systems and FuriosaAI to explore collaboration in the supercomputing and AI domains.
The oil giant also inked an agreement with Rebellions to deploy the latter’s Neural Processing Unit chips in Aramco’s data centres, which will contribute to boosting digital infrastructure and driving advanced AI innovations.
A third MoU with SambaNova Systems aims to accelerate AI capabilities, innovation, and Kingdom-wide adoption.
In the same event, Aramco announced the deployment of an AI supercomputer, one of the first systems of its kind in the region.
Backed by some of the most powerful NVIDIA Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), the AI supercomputer is developed to expedite complex computing tasks, including analysing drilling plans and geological data to recommend low options for good placement.
The Tadawul-listed firm has joined forces with Qualcomm Technologies to improve its facility monitoring, predictive maintenance, and use of autonomous drones.
Aramco’s expansion strategy resulted in strong financial performance during the six-month period that ended on 30 June 2024, recording net profits valued at SAR 211.28 billion.
