HP launches commercial production at its Riyadh plant and rolls out AgentOne’s agent for institutional support automation
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HP has begun the actual commercial production phase at its manufacturing facility in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, with the launch of shipments of locally manufactured devices to customers and partners across the Kingdom, a step that moves the computing giant’s presence from a mere sales outlet to an operational hub that combines manufacturing, AI research development, and talent training.
Fadel Saad, general manager of HP’s regional headquarters for the Middle East and North Africa, said the company’s investments intersect directly with the targets of Saudi Vision 2030 to build a knowledge-based economy and localize advanced industries. The plant’s operation came with support and coordination from Saudi government entities, led by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Investment, which accelerated the commissioning of production lines to meet the growing demand for office equipment capable of running generative AI applications and tools.
In parallel with manufacturing, the company established an AI Research and Development Center of Excellence in the Kingdom, replicating a model it uses at its research centre in Spain. The model links research teams directly with customers and academic institutions to diagnose operational challenges in the business environment and develop solutions that suit local and regional needs rather than confining innovation to isolated labs.
This research collaboration resulted in the launch of the HP AgentOne platform, an AI-driven agent solution designed to manage IT services within enterprises.The system was developed starting from extensive workshops with major Saudi organisations, where it captures technical support requests via email, voice calls and direct channels, then analyses the tickets and either routes them or resolves them autonomously, reducing the time wasted on handling routine technical issues.
The system integrates with initiatives to develop human capital and support entrepreneurship, as the company launched the HP AI Academy to prepare staff and students for the digital economy, alongside the inauguration of the Garage 2.0 incubator, inspired by the company’s early days in Palo Alto, aimed at linking startups with investors and experts and turning prototypes into scalable projects.
Shifting hardware production and intelligent-agent research to the regional market reshapes the priorities of technology and procurement managers across the Gulf and the wider region.This expansion enables organisations and companies to accelerate the procurement of desktop computing devices enhanced with AI capabilities while directly complying with local content requirements. Offering software agents for automated technical support also places managed-service providers in a new reality that mandates embedding automation agents into daily workflows to lower operating costs and improve employee response efficiency.
This trajectory confirms that competition among global technology firms is no longer limited to shipping boxes and ready-made hardware; it now hinges on localising the entire innovation cycle and integrating devices with software-agent solutions to serve markets experiencing rapid growth in corporate AI adoption.