Saudi Arabia Launches Multibillion-Dollar AI Venture 'Humain' Amid High-Profile Tech Summit

Saudi prince launches AI venture as Trump, Musk, Altman, and Zuckerberg arrive for conference | TechCrunch

Saudi Arabia's ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, launched an AI company called Humain to bolster the country's artificial intelligence sector. The company plans to build out the country's AI infrastructure, including the construction of data centers. This news arrives as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg are expected to attend a U.S.-Saudi investment forum on Tuesday, where AI will likely take center stage. President Trump is also preparing to visit the country this week as part of a tour of the region. Humain is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which manages assets worth around $940 billion and is part of the Crown Prince's ambitions to diversify his country's finances beyond the lucrative oil industry. American tech giants have looked to the wealthy PIF as a source of capital. Companies like Google and Salesforce have also recently worked with the PIF on AI-related projects and investments.

Saudi Arabia launches AI venture Humain ahead of Donald Trump visit

Saudi Arabia has launched a new artificial intelligence company that will be chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and be Riyadh's prime vehicle to drive the kingdom's strategy and investments as it seeks to become a global AI hub. The new multibillion-dollar entity, named Humain, was unveiled a day before US President Donald Trump touches down in Riyadh on the first leg of a three-nation tour of the oil-rich Gulf. Tesla's Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg are also expected to be in the Saudi capital on Tuesday to attend a US-Saudi investment forum, when a raft of multibillion-dollar deals are set to be announced in AI, defence and other sectors. No details were given for the size of Humain's capital, but the company plans to build a suite of AI technologies and infrastructure, including data centres, according to a statement published by the Saudi state news agency. It will be both an investor and an operator of AI assets, and plans to offer advanced Arabic large language models targeting users in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East. Building a state-of-the-art AI model today typically runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars, involving cutting-edge chips, huge energy demands and other infrastructure costs. US tech companies are increasingly looking to the Gulf, which manages some of the world's largest and most active sovereign wealth funds, to raise capital and lure investments. Riyadh will hope that the launch of Humain, which is owned by the $940bn Public Investment Fund, will bring clarity to its AI strategy. In recent years, Saudi officials have made numerous statements about the kingdom's grand ambitions in the sector, but it has been unclear which entity was leading the plans. The PIF has already launched several AI companies, including Alat, also chaired by Prince Mohammed, which has pledged to invest $100bn by 2030 in AI hardware and technology infrastructure. Last year, US AI chipmaker Groq announced a partnership with Aramco Digital, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's state oil company, to build the world's largest inferencing data centre in the kingdom. Cerebras, another US AI chipmaker, has also announced an alliance with Aramco. The US Treasury said on Thursday it would establish a "fast track process to facilitate greater investment in US businesses" from allies, something Gulf states lobbied for to accelerate AI investments in the US and ease access to American chips. Gulf states increasingly view AI as a key component of their efforts to reduce their dependence on oil and develop new industries. The United Arab Emirates, which Trump will visit this week, has established G42, which is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Gulf state's power national security adviser, as its main AI vehicle. Microsoft invested $1.5bn for a minority stake in G42 last year, in a deal that was seen as key to US relations with the UAE. Abu Dhabi also launched a dedicated AI investment fund, MGX, last year and has taken a strategic decision to invest in US technology. Qatar, the other country on Trump's tour, has also made clear its AI ambitions and is likely to announce investments in the sector during the president's visit. Saudi Arabia has slowed its spending overseas in recent years after a decade of frenetic activity as the government grapples with lower oil prices and the sheer scale of its domestic projects, many of which are being overseen by the PIF. But AI is considered one of the areas where the kingdom will be looking to continue spending. In January, Prince Mohammed pledged that the kingdom would invest $600bn in the US over the next four years after a telephone call with Trump.

Saudi Arabia launches multibillion-dollar AI venture - SiliconANGLE

Saudi Arabia is launching a company to invest in artificial intelligence models and infrastructure, the Financial Times reported today. The venture is set to be known as Humain. It will be chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and owned by Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's $940 billion sovereign wealth fund. According to the Financial Times, Humain will be "prime vehicle to drive the kingdom's AI strategy." Humain is expected to be a "multibillion-dollar" venture. Specific numbers were not disclosed, but the Financial Times report did detail that the company plans to not only invest in AI assets but also operate them. Those assets will reportedly include Arabic large language models and data centers. The launch of Humain comes a day before U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf. His first stop will be Saudi Arabia, where Elon Musk, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and other executives are expected to attend a U.S.-Saudi investment forum. Last week, OpenAI announced an initiative through which it plans to help countries build AI data centers and deploy localized versions of its LLMs. The ChatGPT developer's initiative also has a number of other elements. OpenAI is offering to help participating countries set up AI startup funds to support their local AI ecosystems. Additionally, participants will invest in Project Stargate, OpenAI's $500 billion push to build a network of stateside AI data centers. Humain's launch marks the latest in a series of AI initiatives announced by Saudi Arabia over the past year. In February, chip startup Groq Inc. secured a $1.5 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its AI chips to the country. Grok has developed a processor that it claims can run LLMs with 10 times the power-efficiency of graphics cards. According to Reuters, the company will use the funds to expand an inference-optimized data center that it has built in the Saudi city of Dammam. Earlier, fellow chipmaker Cerebras Systems Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding with Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company. Aramco will use Cerebras' CS-3 AI appliances to develop LLMs. The appliances are powered by the company's wafer-scale WSE-3 chip, which features four trillion transistors organized into nearly one million cores. OpenAI is reportedly developing its own custom AI processor to reduce its reliance on Nvidia Corp. In February, Reuters reported that the ChatGPT developer was planning to partner with Taiwan Semiconductor Co. Ltd. to mass produce the chip. If it's competitive with Nvidia silicon, OpenAI's processor could potentially become part of the initiative through which it plans to help countries build AI data centers.

Saudi Arabia launches company to develop artificial intelligence under PIF

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a new company under the Public Investment Fund (PIF) named "Humain" to develop and manage artificial intelligence technologies, the state news agency reported on Monday. Chaired by the crown prince, Humain will provide a comprehensive range of AI services, products, and tools, including next-generation data centers, AI infrastructure, cloud capabilities and advanced AI models and solutions. The company will also offer one of the world's most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models (LLMs), the state news agency reported. Saudi Arabia has expressed its ambition to establish itself as a global centre for data and AI.

All about Humain, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's multi-billion dollar AI company

Saudi Arabia's crown prince has launched Humain, a new AI company under the Public Investment Fund, to boost the kingdom's AI sector. It plans to build data centres and develop Arabic AI models. The move supports Vision 2030 which aims to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for AI innovation.Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has unveiled a new artificial intelligence company, Humain, aimed at strengthening the country's growing AI sector. Established under the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the company plans to develop Saudi Arabia's AI infrastructure, including setting up advanced data centres. Humain is poised to offer a broad spectrum of AI services, products, and tools, such as next-generation data centres, AI infrastructure, cloud solutions, and cutting-edge AI models and applications. The PIF, which is backing the initiative, manages assets valued at approximately $940 billion, as reported by news site TechCrunch. As the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia is undergoing a major economic and social shift under its Vision 2030 programme, which seeks to reduce the country's reliance on oil. Part of this vision includes establishing Saudi Arabia as a global AI hub -- the country aims to position itself as a key player in the AI space, rivalling the United States as a centre for AI innovation. Humain's strategy will see it not only invest in but also operate AI assets, with plans to introduce advanced Arabic-language large models targeting users in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East, according to the Financial Times. This announcement comes as key figures in the tech world, including Tesla's Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, are expected in Riyadh for a US-Saudi investment forum. The event is expected to feature a series of multibillion-dollar deals across AI, defence, and other sectors. Additionally, US President Donald Trump is commencing a four-day trip to the Middle East, starting with talks with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. The discussions are expected to focus on a variety of issues, including efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear programme, address the ongoing conflict in Gaza and managing global oil prices.

PIF update: Saudi Crown Prince launches HUMAIN

image: PIF/ X Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has launched HUMAIN, a new wholly owned company that will operate and invest across the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain as part of the kingdom's ambitious push to become a global hub for AI and digital innovation. The announcement was made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as Prime Minister and Chairman of the PIF Board of Directors. HUMAIN will function as a unified operating company, offering a wide range of AI services, products, and tools, including next-generation data centres, AI infrastructure and cloud solutions, as well as advanced AI models. According to a PIF statement, HUMAIN will develop one of the world's most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models (LLMs) and provide localised, regional, and global AI capabilities. The company aims to enhance human potential and unlock new opportunities across the digital economy. HUMAIN to streamline data centre initiatives "The launch of HUMAIN marks a major milestone in the kingdom's AI strategy," the statement said. "The company will streamline national data centre initiatives, procure AI hardware, and accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies across strategic sectors including energy, healthcare, manufacturing and financial services." The initiative supports PIF's broader strategy to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy and build a globally competitive digital ecosystem. The Global AI Index 2024 recently ranked Saudi Arabia as the world's leader in terms of government AI strategy. Saudi Arabia's geographic location -- at the crossroads of three continents -- combined with strong economic growth prospects and a tech-savvy youth population, positions the kingdom as a natural hub for large-scale data processing and AI development, PIF said. PIF and its portfolio companies have already been investing in building AI infrastructure and forming international partnerships in the field. HUMAIN will further these efforts by fostering local innovation, enabling the creation of proprietary technology and intellectual property, and attracting top talent from around the world. The company is expected to play a central role in helping Saudi Arabia achieve its national AI aspirations and establish itself as a global AI powerhouse.