Saudi Arabia Launches AI Company HUMAIN Ahead of Trump Visit

On the eve of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit, Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of a new company focused on investing in the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain. This development signals that AI technology is expected to be a key topic during Trump's visit.

On Monday, May 12, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) officially launched a new company named "HUMAIN." The company, fully owned by PIF, will operate and invest in the AI value chain. HUMAIN aims to provide comprehensive AI services, products, and tools, including next-generation data centers, AI infrastructure and cloud capabilities, advanced AI models and solutions, and the world's most powerful multilingual Arabic language model (LLM).

HUMAIN is committed to developing and delivering AI solutions locally, regionally, and globally, with the goal of enhancing human capabilities and supporting the release of new possibilities through the digital economy. Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman will chair the company's board of directors.

The announcement also mentioned that HUMAIN will simplify various data center plans, procure hardware, and accelerate the adoption of AI technology, positioning itself as a regional and global AI hub for strategic industries such as energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and finance. However, the investment scale was not disclosed.

Currently, Saudi Arabia is undergoing a large-scale economic diversification reform plan to position itself as a global technology hub. Last year, the country announced a $100 billion AI project and is rapidly expanding its data center and cloud computing infrastructure.

During Trump's visit to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's efforts in this area are expected to receive further support. It is reported that the U.S. government is planning to lift restrictions, imposed during the Biden administration, on the acquisition of advanced AI chips by countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Prior to the release, Trump departed from Andrews Joint Base for a three-day visit to the Middle East. Concurrently, the Saudi-American Investment Forum is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on the day of Trump's arrival, with several high-ranking U.S. business executives confirming their attendance.

Among the tech giants attending the forum are Alphabet's Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat, IBM's CEO Arvind Krishna, and Qualcomm's CEO Cristiano Amon. In recent years, U.S. cloud computing giants have accelerated their expansion into the Gulf region, driven by the area's low energy and land costs. It is predicted that by 2027, the Middle East and North Africa will attract approximately $12 billion in new data center investments.

Currently, Saudi Arabia accounts for nearly half of the data center capacity in the region. A Saudi minister recently stated that the country is building more than 2 gigawatts of computing infrastructure. Against this backdrop, more companies are planning to establish operations locally, including Scale AI, a startup backed by Amazon, and Futu, which is recruiting talent in Saudi Arabia as part of its $500 million investment plan.