Aramco Ventures, a subsidiary of Saudi oil giant Aramco, will establish an office in Paris, which highlights the close relationship between Aramco and French firms.
This was announced by the Executive Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Saudi Aramco, Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, when he was at the Adopt AI Grand Palais international summit in Paris.
In his speech, Al-Khowaiter underscored the pivotal relationship between artificial intelligence and the energy industry. He emphasized that energy is essential to fuel AI data centers, but AI solutions can boost energy supply.
With the partnerships of Aramco with French companies, Al-Khowaiter stated that “Our partnership with Pasqal Quantum Computing just saw the installation of Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer dedicated to industrial applications, right at our headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.”
He stated that this project will increase quantum computing capabilities in the area and speed up quantum uses in the energy, materials, and industrial fields.
He said, “We are committed to our partnerships here, and also to the infectious spirit of innovation that surrounds the French tech industry. That’s why I’m very pleased to announce that Aramco Ventures is opening a new office here in Paris, as we continue to invest in next-generation technologies here and across Europe.”
Regarding the relationship between AI and energy, Al-Khowaiter explained that AI is creating generational opportunity in all industries, society, and the economy. However, the most important aspect of this global change is the essential connection between AI and Energy.
Al-Khowaiter added that “Data centers alone consumed around 415 terawatt hours of electricity just last year. That’s nearly equal to France’s total electricity consumption. By 2030, that number is actually expected to more than double… With global energy demand predicted to rise significantly by 2050 – mostly in emerging economies – AI is going to be critical for producing energy more efficiently, more sustainably, and affordably.”
Under the artificial intelligence program at Aramco, Al-Khowaiter observed that the company has some of the most powerful supercomputers in the Middle East region.
He said, “We have access to over 90 years of proprietary data, and every day, billions of new data points are generated to add to that. This has fueled the creation of the energy industry’s first industrial Large Language Model.”
He also stated that Aramco had more than 400 AI use cases, which are constantly being worked on and scaled throughout its operations.
He further reported that “We believe we can accelerate efficiency, reliability and safety throughout our value chain… In 2024 alone, Aramco generated $4 billion of technology realized value, and around half of that was driven by AI solutions.”
