SDAIA's Regulatory Sandbox — Saudi Arabia's Region-First Testing Ground for Privacy-Enhancing AI

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) launched the Data and Privacy Regulatory Sandbox on 6 February 2023, describing it as the first regulatory sandbox of its kind in the region for data and privacy. It is run by SDAIA's National Data Management Office out of the National Center for AI (NCAI) in Riyadh, and lets micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs test products and services built on privacy-enhancing technologies within a defined, supervised regulatory framework before wider market entry.

A second edition, the 'Regulatory Sandbox Program 2025', opened for applications from 21 May to 31 July 2025 and was formally launched at a ceremony at SDAIA headquarters attended by more than 150 participants — digital service and product providers, developers, experts, policymakers and entrepreneurs, per the official Saudi Press Agency report.

SDAIA frames the sandbox as part of the Kingdom's ambition to become a global model for privacy-by-design technology adoption, tying it to its role in national data governance and Vision 2030's digital transformation goals.

Caution: neither edition has a published tally of companies accepted, tested, or graduated, nor any measured privacy or compliance outcome. The 150+ figure reflects launch-ceremony attendance, not sandbox throughput — treat impact claims as unverified until SDAIA publishes a results report.

Read the full analysis: https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2323042