Investment pioneer Samer Choucair confirmed that the shift toward “Smart Defense” represents one of the most prominent economic paths in 2026. He noted that artificial intelligence has moved beyond being a tool for civilian innovation to become a fundamental infrastructure for military power and deterrence, opening wide investment horizons that transcend traditional defense spending concepts toward building integrated industrial value chains.
Samer Choucair explained that the smartest investment in this sector does not lie only in weapons manufacturing companies, but in dual-use technological layers that serve both defense and civilian purposes—such as cybersecurity, high-density computing, autonomous systems, and analytical software.
The investment pioneer said: “Smart defense is not just a military sector; it is a broad investment umbrella that includes data centers, semiconductors, cloud computing, and sensors. Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in a unique position, as it merges the ambition of localizing military industries—targeting over 50% by 2030—with leading an ambitious national strategy in artificial intelligence.”
Samer Choucair pointed to the pivotal role of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and the “HUMAIN” company, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), emphasizing that these institutions are laying the foundations for building a national technical base that raises the Kingdom’s international competitiveness.
In this regard, Samer Choucair identified four strategic areas representing the most promising opportunities for investors in the Kingdom and the Gulf:
First: Unmanned systems and drones, which are witnessing escalating global demand, with vast opportunities in software, smart payloads, and supporting logistical services.
Second: Cybersecurity and digital defense, as the exclusive shield for protecting critical infrastructure in the era of artificial intelligence.
Third: Data centers and high-density computing, which are the essential fuel for any smart defense system—aligning with the Kingdom’s direction to become a regional computing hub.
Fourth: Intelligence analysis and software that transform data into immediate decisions; these sectors achieve the highest returns due to their ability to raise operational efficiency in high-risk environments.
Samer Choucair concluded his statements by emphasizing that the successful investor is the one who views “Smart Defense” as a platform for building new industries and creating qualitative jobs. He added: “The Kingdom is not moving today merely as a buyer of technology, but as a nation that wants to own, localize, and export its value. Artificial intelligence is redefining the balance of power, and investing in this field is an investment in long-term technical and economic sovereignty under the umbrella of Vision 2030.”