NTT Data Group is considering building data centers in Saudi Arabia as the Japanese firm looks to capitalize on fresh momentum around artificial intelligence in the kingdom.

The company, which was recently taken private by NTT Group in a $16 billion deal, is evaluating opportunities in the Gulf nation, according to Chief Executive Officer Abhijit Dubey.

The information technology company already works with Saudi mega-project developers including Neom and is involved in key infrastructure developments like stadiums, he added. NTT Data has yet to make any firm commitments on building data centers.

※What we see is there is a supply-demand mismatch in terms of what the country wants to achieve in such a short amount of time, versus the actual capacity we have in the country,§ Dubey said in an interview in Riyadh. ※I＊m here specifically because there has been so much interest around AI.§

Dubey sees artificial intelligence and the cloud as critical for Saudi Arabia＊s development and said NTT Data has allocated about 70% of its Middle East budget to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is sharpening its focus on high-tech sectors including AI as it looks to grow new and profitable industries that can diversify revenue streams and turn Riyadh into a global hub for tech, finance and investment. It launched national AI champion Humain earlier this year to help drive that development and is working to secure access to the most cutting-edge U.S. chip technology for local data centers.

Humain, backed the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and oil giant Saudi Aramco, recently struck a data center deal with Blackstone, and BlackRock is also vying to invest.

NTT Data said its recent privatization by NTT may make it easier and faster to move on new investments. It joins companies including Actis and Silicon Valley-based Applied Intuition in looking to join the Saudi tech rush.