Qiddiya Investment Company and Google Cloud have expanded their collaboration to build the digital foundation for Qiddiya City, one of the world’s largest entertainment developments, using artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and real-time data systems.
TL;DR
- Qiddiya will use Google Cloud’s data and AI technologies to power Qiddiya City.
- Master Works will serve as the strategic systems integrator for the project.
- The partnership includes an AI Factory, Q-Brain agentic AI, and a BigQuery-powered unified data platform.
- Qiddiya City spans more than 360 square kilometers and is expected to host over 40 million visitors annually.
What Happened?
Qiddiya Investment Company and Google Cloud announced a major expansion of their collaboration to support the digital infrastructure behind Qiddiya City, a massive entertainment, sports, and culture destination being built near Riyadh.
Through strategic systems integrator Master Works, Qiddiya will deploy Google Cloud’s data and artificial intelligence technologies to support city operations, including construction milestones, visitor demand patterns, and real-time operational efficiency. Google Cloud said the system will help Qiddiya reduce time-to-insight from weeks to minutes.
Qiddiya City is being developed as a major part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy beyond oil. According to Google Cloud, flagship destinations such as Six Flags Qiddiya City and Aquarabia are already open to the public, while the wider 360 square kilometer city continues expanding across more than 20 neighborhoods.
How Will AI Power Qiddiya City?
The expanded collaboration focuses on three major technology pillars.
First, Qiddiya will build an AI Factory enabled by Google’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. This will be used to develop and scale custom AI frameworks that can analyze visitor behavior, spending, and movement patterns to support more personalized guest experiences and predictive crowd management.
Second, Qiddiya’s proprietary AI platform, Q-Brain, will use Gemini models to become what the company describes as an active operational partner. In simpler terms, Q-Brain is expected to help leadership and staff make faster decisions by offering real-time intelligence and autonomous task execution across the destination.
Third, Qiddiya will use a unified data platform built on BigQuery. This platform will consolidate data from Qiddiya’s entertainment destinations into a single source of truth, giving teams the processing power needed to run a smart city at scale.
What Did The Companies Say?
“Our goal is a seamless digital experience that connects Qiddiya City with our growing nationwide entertainment portfolio,” said Abdulrahman Alali, Chief Technology Officer at Qiddiya Investment Company.
He added that combining Google Cloud’s technology with Master Works’ integration expertise would help create “a robust, data-driven foundation” that turns the massive project into a manageable and intelligent reality for operators and visitors.
Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, Managing Director at Google Cloud Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said that integrating Google Cloud’s infrastructure and AI into Qiddiya’s operations would help turn massive data into actionable intelligence. He added that Google Cloud’s AI stack would help digitally optimize the project in line with Saudi Vision 2030 goals.
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Why Does It Matter?
Qiddiya City is not being positioned as just another entertainment venue. The project spans more than 360 square kilometers, which Qiddiya says is more than three times the size of Paris, and is planned across more than 20 neighborhoods. Qiddiya says the city will include 400 attractions, 275 rides, 12 theme parks, 2,000 art installations, 43 sports facilities, and multiple esports venues.
The city is also expected to eventually house more than 500,000 residents and attract millions of annual visits. Google Cloud’s release says Qiddiya City is expected to bring the Power of Play to over 40 million visitors a year when complete.
That scale explains why Qiddiya is turning to AI and cloud infrastructure. Managing visitor flows, live operations, asset performance, venue schedules, construction progress, and customer experiences across such a large destination would be difficult through fragmented systems.
What’s Next?
The next phase will focus on deployment. Master Works will integrate Google Cloud’s technologies across Qiddiya’s digital infrastructure, while Qiddiya continues expanding its entertainment, sports, gaming, and cultural districts.
The partnership also shows how AI is moving beyond chatbots and content tools into large-scale urban operations. For Qiddiya, the goal is to build an entertainment city that can sense, analyze, and respond in real time. For Google Cloud, it is another major example of its AI infrastructure being used to power smart city and experience-led projects.
