Saudi AI startup Humain secures up to $1.2B to expand AI infrastructure

Saudi Arabia just placed a massive bet on its AI future. State-backed startup Humain has secured a financing agreement of up to $1.2 billion from the kingdom’s National Infrastructure Fund, a move set to turbocharge the country’s AI and digital backbone. The deal, announced in Davos, lays out non-binding terms to build up to 250 megawatts of data center capacity, giving Humain the computing firepower it needs to serve customers at scale.

The timing isn’t random. Back in October, Humain revealed plans for “Humain 1,” a voice-controlled operating system that lets users talk to their computers rather than click through menus. Think less mouse, more conversation. The company sees it as a preview of how people will interact with machines going forward — more natural, more intuitive.

“Saudi Arabia’s National Infrastructure Fund and Humain, the kingdom’s artificial intelligence company, announced a financing agreement of up to $1.2 billion on Wednesday to support the expansion of AI and digital infrastructure in the country,” Reuters reported.

Humain is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and led by CEO Tareq Amin, a former executive at Rakuten and NEOM. The message is clear: this isn’t a side project. The kingdom wants a seat at the global AI table, and Humain sits at the center of that push.

From Oil to AI: Saudi Arabia Funds $1.2B Expansion of Humain’s Data Center Empire

Saudi Arabia has been racing to build out computing capacity as demand for AI workloads explodes worldwide. The goal stretches beyond technology. Officials want to reduce dependence on oil by growing new industries that can drive long-term economic activity. AI stands near the top of that list.

Founded last year and fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, Humain has already signed major partnerships. That includes deals with Elon Musk’s xAI and Blackstone-backed AirTrunk to develop data centers across the country. The company targets roughly 6 gigawatts of capacity by 2034, a level that would place Saudi Arabia among the world’s serious AI infrastructure hubs.

Infra, part of the National Development Fund, plans to go further. Alongside Humain, it will explore launching a dedicated AI data center investment platform. The idea is to attract both global and regional institutional investors eager to back the next wave of AI growth in the Middle East.

Behind the scenes, Humain is thinking big. The company wants to build massive AI factories over the next five years, each capable of delivering up to 500 megawatts of compute. That means hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs humming away, training models, running applications, and supporting enterprise clients.

This deal adds another signal that Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions are real, well-funded, and moving fast. With deep sovereign backing, heavyweight leadership, and a growing list of partners, Humain is shaping up as the backbone of the kingdom’s AI strategy — from data centers to software, all under one roof.