Riyadh’s ninth Future Investment Initiative (FII9) closed its doors with a thunderclap of signatures and handshakes — more than $50 billion in deals and investment commitments spanning AI, renewable energy, advanced technology, and infrastructure.
Held from October 27 to 30 under the banner “The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth,” this year’s gathering became a showcase of Saudi Arabia’s deepening role in steering global capital and innovation.
The turnout was record-breaking — over 9,000 delegates, 600 media representatives, 2,000 members, and 650 speakers across 250 sessions, joined by 20 heads of state and participants from 90 countries. The event pulsed with energy, reflecting both ambition and geopolitical weight.
Among the marquee deals announced:
Green Power Push: ACWA Power, Aramco, and international utilities joined forces to expand low-carbon generation capacity.
AI Sovereignty Projects: Saudi firms partnered with HUMAIN, Qualcomm, and Blackstone to create national-scale AI and data infrastructure — a bold step toward sovereign compute and training ecosystems.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), led by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, revealed that since the FII’s inception, cumulative deals have crossed $250 billion — a clear marker of Riyadh’s climb as an investment powerhouse.
Adding to the international dimension, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled a £6.4 billion ($8.4 billion) UK–Gulf trade and investment pact, spotlighting deeper technology and innovation cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
FII9 also drew global heavyweights — from China’s Vice-President Han Zheng and Russia’s Kirill Dmitriev to high-ranking U.S. representatives — reinforcing the event’s stature as a hub of geo-economic dialogue.
Technology took center stage, with more than half of all speakers representing the tech industry. Discussions orbited around artificial intelligence, robotics, deep-tech, and the green-energy transition — sectors no longer viewed as future bets but as economic imperatives.
This year’s FII wasn’t just a conference; it felt more like an operating manual for the future of investment. Themes of public-private fusion, geo-economic diversification, and technology-driven transformation dominated, signaling a shift from talk to tangible global action.
Richard Attias, Chair of the FII Institute’s Executive Committee, summed up the sentiment: “The story of prosperity being unlocked must now be proven through delivery, collaboration, and inclusive growth.”
With Vision 2030 as its compass, Saudi Arabia is turning its flagship investment summit into something bigger — a platform for global economic choreography. As the spotlights fade in Riyadh, the world now waits to see how these pledges evolve into real-world impact — in factories, data centers, and energy grids across continents.
