Unlocking Saudi Arabia’s social media potential

• Kwai: Empowering Saudi Arabia’s Social Media Landscape with AI-Driven Localization

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: – During his keynote address at DeepFest, Hongbin Ma, CEO of Kuaishou International Business, captivated attendees with insights into Kuaishou’s impressive growth trajectory and its strategic focus on the MENA region through its mobile app “Kwai”, particularly Saudi Arabia. DeepFest, the premier AI event co-organised by Artificial Intelligence, took place from March 4th to March 7th, 2024, at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, attracting thought leaders, innovators, and tech enthusiasts from around the globe.

According to a report released in 2023 by Datareportel, Saudi Arabia stands at the regions forefront in social media content consumption with a total social media population of 29 million users making up over 79% of the population.

During his presentation, titled “AI Infused Momentum; Shaping Kwai’s Rise in MENA,” Mr. Ma emphasized Kuaishou’s position as the world’s second-largest short video platform, boasting a vibrant community with a staggering user base of 1 billion average MAUs (Monthly Average Users). With 100 billion daily average video views and 1.1 billion monthly short video uploads, Kuaishou’s figures highlight the global appeal for the creative platform.

Mr. Ma elaborated on Kuaishou’s internationalization strategy, which commenced in 2017 and has since expanded to over 20 countries. Notably, Kwai has achieved remarkable traction in the MENA region, boasting a large user base and fostering high levels of engagement within the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

Central to Kuaishou’s success is its robust in-house AI capabilities, highlighted by a team of over 1,500 algorithm engineers and 3,500 specialist engineers. The company’s commitment to innovation is evident through its extensive research, with 130+ papers in top-tier conferences and over 1000 patents on industry-leading models. Kuaishou’s big data center, equipped with over 300,000 high-performance servers and computing capacity exceeding 10,000 GPUs and 1,000,000 CPU cores, underscores its technological prowess and scalability.

Moreover, Mr. Ma reiterated Kwai’s commitment to community safety through AI-powered content understanding models and its efforts to enhance user engagement through self-developed large models and AI-powered interactions.

The keynote address also shed light on Kwai’s emphasis on localization in MENA, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia, reflecting its dedication to resonating with the region’s cultural and civilizational heritage. The community standards set by Kwai are in line with the Saudi Arabian culture and traditions making sure the content being consumed by Saudi Arabians is culturally relevant and respectful of their norms and traditions.

DeepFest, co-located with LEAP, provided a dynamic platform for industry leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to exchange ideas, explore emerging trends, and showcase groundbreaking technologies.