FII9 Day 2: AI, Energy, and Ambition Define Riyadh's Vision for Global Progress From AI sovereignty to energy resilience and national transformation, global leaders gathered in Riyadh to define the next phase of prosperity.

The second day of the 9th Future Investment Initiative (FII) spotlighted the rise of the age of intelligence — where data, compute, and ambition are reshaping industries, economies, and the human experience.

From AI sovereignty to energy resilience and national transformation, global leaders gathered in Riyadh to define the next phase of prosperity.

Opening the day's plenary, Richard Attias, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Acting CEO of the FII Institute, said, "Global conversations need calm to decouple prosperity from politics. This week, we're seeing Saudi Arabia at the center of new global partnerships that redefine what progress means in an age of intelligence."

In sessions titled "Will Compute Become a Global Resource?" and "What Does It Take to Create Intelligence?", experts described AI compute power as the fourth great resource — after stone, iron, and oil.

"AI is built on compute — the fourth civilization-level resource," said Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq.

Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, highlighted Saudi Arabia's emerging role as a regional data hub, while Philip Guido of AMD said democratizing compute "means everyone will have an opportunity to participate."

At the Board of Changemakers: The Energy Trilemma, leaders from ACWA Power, ENGIE, Octopus Energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy discussed how to meet AI's growing energy demands without compromising sustainability.

"There should be no trade-off between cost, sustainability, and resilience — these are interdependent," said Khalid Al-Ghamdi, CEO of Saudi Electricity Company.

H.E. Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Vice Chairman of the National Development Fund, emphasized Saudi Arabia's expanding role as a regional stabilizer, "In a world of disruption, partnerships between national funds and multilaterals are more essential than ever."

In "Resilience as the New Corporate Currency," executives from PIF, Baker McKenzie, and Moelis & Co. defined the new metrics of endurance. "Companies have optimized for efficiency, not endurance," said Rania Nashar of PIF.

Dr. Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics, unveiled the next frontier, "There will be a robot for every person — but first they must become truly functional and manufactured at scale."

Tourism Minister H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb reaffirmed the sector's place in Vision 2030, "Tourism represents 5% of our GDP; we must double that within five years."

H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chairman of Saudi Aramco, revealed the fund's next growth phase, "Back in 2015, PIF's assets were around US$150 billion. Today, they're almost triple that, and we aim to reach US$1 trillion by year-end."

He outlined six focus ecosystems for 2026–2030 — including travel and tourism, innovation, clean energy, and NEOM — as pillars for future capital allocation.

The day closed with Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa, who spoke movingly about rebuilding through investment, not aid, "War entered every home in Syria. But our people remained steadfast. Today is a historic opportunity for investors to start investing in Syria."

Across technology, energy, and human development, FII9 Day 2 captured a world searching for new equilibrium — where intelligence, ambition, and collaboration stand as the true currencies of progress.