Global power player, Saudi Arabia, aims to leverage financial muscle for a substantive presence in the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) sector, asserting its ambition to become a dominant force.
Saudi Arabia's newly established state-owned artificial intelligence company, Humain, is planning to secure investment from top US tech firms and establish a $10 billion venture capital fund. This ambitious initiative aims to establish Humain as a major global player in the AI sector and position Saudi Arabia as a leading AI hub.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, disclosed ongoing negotiations with several American groups, including OpenAI, Elon Musk's xAI, and Andreessen Horowitz. Although Amin declined to name the US tech firms interesting in an equity partnership, he confirmed that discussions were underway with "massive names in the data center segment."
Humain Ventures, the venture capital arm of Humain, will launch this summer with an initial $10 billion to invest in start-ups across the US, Europe, and Asia. The company's broad strategy encompasses investments, infrastructure, and chip design, positioning it to play a central role in various aspects of the AI industry.
With the support of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Humain was established with the goal of becoming a key player in the burgeoning AI sector. The company has already signed deals worth $23 billion with US tech firms like Nvidia, AMD, Amazon Web Services, and Qualcomm since its launch.
The company aims to establish 1.9 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2030, which could expand to 6.6GW by 2034. Given current market rates, this project is estimated to cost $77 billion. Humain's ultimate goal is to process 7% of global AI training and inference by 2030.
The establishment of Humain underscores the ambitious AI aspirations of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs the company. Saudi Arabia aims to rival other Gulf states in the race to become regional AI leaders and reap the benefits of technological advancement and economic diversification.
In an effort to reassure US policymakers regarding technology transfer to China, Saudi Arabia has elected to collaborate primarily with American tech firms. Amin stressed the importance of the US ecosystem in sustaining Humain's growth, noting that partnership choices were carefully considered to avoid mistakes.
The first phase of Humain's plan to build massive data center parks will commence with a 50MW plant using NVIDIA chips, slated to become operational by next year. The company intends to expand this to 500MW in phases, requiring approximately 180,000 chips, as per Amin.
Humain has forged a $10 billion joint venture with AMD to provide 500MW of capacity over five years and is investing $2 billion with Qualcomm to develop data centers and chip design capabilities in Saudi Arabia. These partnerships underscore the significant role US tech firms play in Humain's AI initiatives.
Amin indicated that the procurement process for chips from US tech firms would begin within the next 30 days. He expressed optimism that the sales would enjoy support from the Trump administration, as Washington recently announced plans to lift restrictions on AI chip sales to countries like Saudi Arabia.
Addressing concerns about privacy and security at data centers, Amin noted that Humain would allow real-time inventory and customer audits of data usage and processing. Riyadh is also expected to pass legislation regulating data centers under the laws of the country of origin of the tenant AI company, potentially addressing concerns related to data sovereignty.
To attract data centers to Saudi Arabia, the government offers subsidized electricity prices, with Humain providing the necessary infrastructure for joint ventures. The plans for Humain's AI initiatives coincide with the government's ongoing efforts to grapple with lower oil prices and manage extensive financial commitments tied to various megaprojects.
- Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, is negotiating with multiple US tech firms for investing in the artificial-intelligence company.
- Humain Ventures, the venture capital arm of Humain, will focus on investing in start-ups across various global regions in the technology and AI industry.
- The establishment of Humain's data center parks will involve partnerships with US tech firms, such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm.
- To ensure data privacy and security at data centers, Humain will offer real-time inventory and customer audits of data usage and processing.
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