Kingdom’s Bold AI Ambition Takes Center Stage

HUMAIN, the kingdom’s newly founded artificial intelligence company backed by the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), is preparing to unveil a staggering $10 billion venture capital fund this summer. Dubbed HUMAIN Ventures, the fund is set to back the next generation of AI innovators across the United States, Europe and select Asian markets, signaling Riyadh’s determination to cement Saudi Arabia’s place as a leading global AI hub.

From Vision 2030 to Reality: Saudi’s AI Playbook

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 blueprint which champions economic diversification and technological leadership places AI at its core. The Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) projects AI’s contribution to the global economy to reach $15.6 trillion by 2030, alongside the creation of 98 million jobs by 2025. To capture a meaningful share of that opportunity, Riyadh has mobilized resources on a scale rivaling only the biggest U.S. and Chinese tech giants.

• PIF’s heft: With assets under management nearing $940 billion, PIF has transformed from passive investor to active architect of strategic sectors, from entertainment and tourism to green hydrogen and now artificial intelligence.
• HUMAIN’s mandate: Established on 12 May 2025, HUMAIN was launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to build data centers, AI infrastructure, Arabic language models and cloud services.
• Multimodal Arabic LLM: The company has committed to developing one of the world’s most powerful Arabic large language models, addressing a critical gap in regional AI capabilities.
• Explore Vision 2030’s digital agenda

HUMAIN Ventures: Where the Money Goes

HUMAIN Ventures will deploy its $10 billion across seed, Series A and growth-stage startups that are pioneering breakthroughs in:

1. Fundamental AI research: Foundational models, quantum machine learning, distributed training techniques.
2. Vertical applications: Healthtech, fintech, agritech and climate AI, where specialized solutions can unlock high-impact outcomes.
3. Core infrastructure: Next-generation chips, edge compute platforms and data‐center orchestration tools.

Target Geographies

• United States: Silicon Valley stalwarts, East Coast AI labs and academic spin-outs.
• Europe: Deeptech hubs in London, Berlin and Paris, with a focus on data privacy–compliant AI.
• Asia: Singapore’s AI ecosystem and select Korean and Japanese robotics startups.

By spreading bets across three continents, HUMAIN Ventures aims to diversify risk, tap into the strongest talent pools and forge partnerships that funnel cutting-edge research back to Saudi Arabia’s own AI ecosystem.

Building AI Infrastructure: Data Centers & Chips

Beyond pure financial backing, HUMAIN is rolling out an infrastructure juggernaut featuring:

• 1.9 GW of data-center capacity by 2030, scaling to 6.6 GW within four years, at an estimated cost of $77 billion.
• Phase 1: A 50 MW facility powered by 18,000 NVIDIA chips, operational by mid-2026.
• Future expansions: Plans to grow to 500 MW, requiring up to 180,000 AI accelerators.

Key partnerships already inked:

Strategic U.S. Alliances and Regulatory Windfall

HUMAIN’s leadership has already held equity talks with marquee U.S. players—OpenAI, Elon Musk’s xAI, and Andreessen Horowitz. These discussions aim to secure not only capital but also co-ownership of cutting-edge AI tools and joint data-center ventures on American soil.

Crucially, Washington has rescinded a Biden-era AI chip export restriction, clearing the way for unhindered U.S. sales of advanced accelerators to Saudi Arabia. A new regulatory framework is now being drafted to balance national security concerns with commercial imperatives.

The Global VC Landscape: AI Leads the Charge

To understand the magnitude of HUMAIN’s $10 billion fund, consider that global AI venture funding:

• Surged to an unprecedented $110 billion in 2024, a 62% year-on-year increase (Dealroom).
• Accounted for over $100 billion of startup investment in 2024—a jump of 80% from 2023 (Crunchbase).
• Captured 58% of all Q1 2025 venture dollars, with AI startups raising $73 billion in the first quarter (PitchBook).

By comparison:

• SoftBank Vision Fund 1st fund stood at $93 billion, Vision Fund 2 at $30 billion.
• Cathay Innovation recently closed a $1 billion AI fund, its largest to date, targeting application-layer startups in health, fintech and energy (WSJ).

HUMAIN Ventures’ scale places it among the largest single-sector VC pools globally—and represents a strategic counterweight to American and Chinese tech hegemony.

Local Impact: Jobs, IP and Innovation

While much of the fund will flow overseas, Saudi Arabia expects substantial domestic returns:

• Talent magnet: By offering equity stakes and R&D grants, HUMAIN aims to repatriate Saudi PhDs and attract foreign expertise to Riyadh’s burgeoning tech clusters.
• Intellectual property: Joint ventures will include licensing deals that bring proprietary AI models and chip designs home, fostering a local IP base.
• Job creation: SDAIA forecasts over 25,000 new high-skilled roles in AI infrastructure, research and application development by 2030.

These initiatives dovetail with the National Strategy for Data & AI, which champions “home-grown innovation” and plans to train 20,000 AI specialists through partnerships with top universities.

Navigating Geopolitics: China, Privacy and Trust

Saudi Arabia’s pivot to American suppliers is not incidental. Though Beijing accounts for nearly 20% of Saudi trade volume, U.S. alliances help mitigate concerns over potential technology transfers to China, particularly in sensitive dual-use areas like advanced semiconductors and defense-grade AI.

Moreover, HUMAIN is proactively addressing data-privacy and security:

• Real-time client dashboards will allow audits of data usage and model access.
  
• Planned legislation will mandate that data centers comply with the legal frameworks of clients’ home jurisdictions, ensuring cross-border trust.

Competition and Collaboration in the Gulf

Saudi Arabia’s AI drive mirrors the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which have each launched sovereign AI funds and partnerships:

• UAE’s Hub71: Abu Dhabi’s tech free zone, backed by Mubadala, has funneled over $5 billion into more than 200 startups.
• Qatar AI Ecosystem: Qatar Foundation’s Qatar Computing Research Institute has deep ties to MIT and CMU, focusing on Arabic NLP.

Yet HUMAIN’s unprecedented scale—combining VC, infrastructure and chip design under one roof—sets it apart in the region.

Risks and Rewards: Betting Big on AI

No mega-project is without pitfalls:

• Oil price volatility could strain PIF’s broader funding capacity if prolonged low prices coincide with heavy tech outlays.
• Global VC recalibration: Early-stage startups outside the model-training focus are seeing tighter capital; HUMAIN Ventures will need to judiciously balance foundational R&D with agile applications.
• Talent wars: Competing with Silicon Valley and Beijing for the same AI experts means offering competitive equity, benefits and research freedoms.

Yet the upside—securing a meaningful slice of an AI economy projected to exceed $15 trillion—offers rewards that dwarf the risks of underinvestment.

What Comes Next?

• Summer 2025: Official launch of HUMAIN Ventures, first tranche of investments announced.
• 2026: Phase 1 data center goes live; initial ROI metrics published; first Saudi-developed models deployed globally.
• 2027–2030: Scaling to 6.6 GW capacity; achieving the target of handling 7% of global AI model training and inferencing.

As Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has asserted, “Whoever reaches the end line first is going to secure a good chunk of the market share.” With HUMAIN’s $10 billion war chest, Saudi Arabia is now firmly in the race—and emerging not just as a deep-pocketed backer, but as an active contender for AI’s next frontier.

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photo source: Google

By: Montel Kamau

Serrari Financial Analyst

29th May, 2025