How Saudi Arabia Is Using AI, Soft Power, and Sovereign Speed to Rewire Global Power
A Seriously Agile Strategic Briefing, By Shabir Mustehsan
I. Introduction: A New Operating Model for the State
We are entering a post-political era of global strategy — where the winners are not those with the loudest democracies, but those with the most agile platforms.
Saudi Arabia is building what we at Seriously Agile define as the world’s first Agile Nation-State — a centralized, tech-enabled, narrative-coherent state that:
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Executes on 25-year plans without electoral resets
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Treats AI, compute, and peacebuilding as infrastructure
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Operates with venture-scale capital and product-level sprints
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Turns culture (Newcastle United, NEOM, Humain) into APIs for global soft power
This is no longer “statecraft as usual.” This is strategy at sovereign speed.
II. From Resource Giant to Platform State
The Saudi state has been systematically re-architected since Vision 2030 — not just to diversify economically, but to digitize its global power base.
| Old Saudi | Agile Saudi |
|---|---|
| Oil-rich rentier economy | Compute-rich execution platform |
| Buyer of influence | Builder of infrastructure and narrative |
| Passive capital allocator | Active venture platform via PIF |
| Conservative branding | Futurist brand stack: NEOM, Humain, Red Sea, Newcastle United |
III. Why Tech Titans Are Converging on Riyadh
| Western Need | Saudi Offering |
|---|---|
| Post-regulatory build zones | AI Zones with immediate approvals |
| Infrastructure at scale | GPU access, sovereign chip deals, AI clusters |
| Narrative and media control | One-voice cultural distribution |
| Capital beyond VC cycles | Multi-decade funding from PIF |
Saudi Arabia has become the go-to sandbox for frontier builders who find liberal democracies structurally incompatible with sovereign tech ambition.
IV. Diplomacy by Design: AI, Peace, and Soft Power
Saudi is not just deploying AI to grow — it is deploying it to mediate.
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NEOM as Geneva 2.0: A compute-rich, diplomatically neutral zone for data-backed negotiations
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LLM-powered simulations: For crisis modeling, conflict scenario testing, and resource diplomacy
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Partnerships with UN-style mediation units: Using AI as a peacekeeping force multiplier
This is diplomacy not as dialogue, but as data synthesis + agile negotiation sprints.
V. Cultural Infrastructure: The Newcastle Playbook
Owning Newcastle United wasn’t about football — it was about:
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Controlling a globally distributed emotional asset
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Testing AI in fan engagement, smart stadiums, digital ID systems
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Embedding national branding into the everyday lives of millions
Newcastle is not just a club. It’s a middleware layer for soft power.
VI. Comparative Insight: China’s Competing Model
Saudi Arabia isn’t the only one building a state-as-a-platform — but its model is distinct from China’s.
| Capability | Saudi Arabia | China |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Orientation | Global brand and soft power | Economic leverage + control export |
| AI Stack | Sovereign LLMs, open to Western partnerships | Heavily state-restricted, closed stack |
| Influence Tactics | Sports, pop culture, narrative zones | Infrastructure financing, digital authoritarianism (e.g. BRI, surveillance tools) |
| Neutrality in diplomacy | Maintains ties with U.S., China, and EU | Perceived as strategic rival in U.S. and West |
| Talent Engagement | Attractive to global technologists, influencers | More insular, with rising IP restrictions |
China is building a state-owned tech empire. Saudi is building a brand-integrated platform state — and it’s more adaptable to Western soft power ecosystems.
VII. Who Can Counter Saudi’s Agile Rise?
Potential Counterweights:
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Singapore
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Strategic, highly centralized, deeply tech-forward
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Lacks scale, but excels in policy agility + AI readiness
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India
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Ambitious government stack (Aadhaar, ONDC)
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Massive talent base, but execution drag from bureaucracy and coalition politics
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United Arab Emirates
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Strong alignment with Saudi vision
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Potential for GCC regional agile alliance
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Africa’s Tech-Nation Experiments (e.g. Rwanda, Kenya)
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Young, mobile-first societies
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Could become sovereign pilots if backed by capital + compute
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Multinational Alliances (EU, G20 AI frameworks)
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Potential to compete via scale — but fragmented, slow, and too reactive
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Right now, no one combines vision, velocity, capital, and narrative the way Saudi does.
VIII. Proving the Thesis: Execution ≠ PR
We propose a global comparative research initiative to validate the idea that agility, not hype, determines who wins in the AI century.
🧪 Hypothesis:
Nations that can release sovereign-scale tech products fastest are not the ones with the best PR — but those with structural agility.
📊 Study Design:
| Variable | Measured By |
|---|---|
| Time to deploy AI zones | From funding to live infrastructure |
| Capital allocation speed | Cost and velocity of multi-billion-dollar launches |
| Product iteration cadence | How often governments ship new public tech |
| Regulatory drag | Average timeline for AI law passage + implementation |
| Talent magnetism | Immigration speed + talent density per project |
| Trust-to-impact ratio | Media visibility vs. actual infrastructure delivered |
Apple, for instance, dominates headlines — but lags in AI feature deployment, proving that narrative ≠ execution.
Meanwhile, Saudi launches Humain and signs chip deals with Nvidia faster than Western governments finish safety guidelines.
IX. What the World Must Learn
Seriously Agile Recommendations for Democracies and Multilateral Institutions:
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Build AI Zones with dual-use mandates — peace + productivity
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Turn cultural assets into narrative platforms — like Saudi with sport
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Use Agile Program Offices for national transformation — not PMOs trapped in compliance
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Develop Sovereign LLMs with diplomacy, not just commerce in mind
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Create the Execution Velocity Index to track and compare real sovereign agility
Agility must become a pillar of national power — not just a buzzword in business decks.
X. Final Statement
“The next agile transformation won’t happen inside a tech company.
It will happen in a kingdom — or a city-state, or a data-rich zone —
where compute, capital, and culture are aligned by design,
and where agility is no longer a tool. It’s the operating system of statecraft.”