RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has joined the global “accelerating” tier in physical artificial intelligence, according to the recently released AWS Global Startup Trends Report.
The report, which assessed 4,420 startups across 20 countries, found that 13 percent of Saudi tech startups are actively building physical AI solutions, placing it in the same category as countries such as France, Singapore and Canada.
Despite this progress, the report identified market readiness as a key hurdle. Only 26 percent of builders globally believe their local markets are ready to deploy physical AI, while 70 percent cited slow customer adoption as a major constraint, driven by limited enterprise awareness rather than concerns about technological viability.
The report also found that 70 percent of builders expect physical AI to create more jobs than it eliminates, with growing demand for robotics engineers, systems integrators, and specialized technicians. With a builder density of 13 percent, the Kingdom holds the talent foundation needed to turn physical AI into an engine for long-term industrial leadership.
Ahmed Boshnak, managing director at AWS in Saudi Arabia, said: “The main bottleneck lies in market visibility and deployment readiness, not in the viability of the technology itself.”
He explained that 70 percent of builders point to slow customer adoption, while only 14 percent believe businesses in their markets are currently ready to use it. This slow adoption stems primarily from a “seeing-is-believing deficit,” the need for capital expenditure with proven return on investment, and regulatory and safety uncertainty, he added.
“Physical AI redirects demand away from pure digital software toward applied technical integration that combines hardware and software,” said Boshnak, adding that Saudi Arabia’s 13 percent share, compared with 17 percent in France and Singapore and 14 percent in Canada and Australia, reflected the rapid development of the Kingdom’s technology ecosystem.
However, he warned of an “acceleration paradox” — without sufficient local demand, builders may ultimately be forced to market their products abroad.
Boshnak said the Kingdom’s young, digitally literate population and national workforce development programs could help it close the adoption gap faster than economies with aging populations.
