With the potential to contribute approximately $135 billion (SAR 500 billion) to the economy by 2030, AI has become the flag bearer of Saudi Arabia’s rapid growth and a critical enabler for transforming industries and enhancing economic development.
In late last month, shortly after its founding, HUMAIN, a PIF-backed AI company, announced plans to launch a $10 billion venture capital (VC) fund, marking a significant step towards AI global sovereignty, fostering its digital self-reliance and sustainable growth.
Key Vision 2030 AI-Related objectives
- The Kingdom aims to rank among the top 15 countries globally in AI by 2030.
- It targets training 20,000 AI and data specialists by 2030
- AI is expected to contribute $135 billion to the nation’s GDP by 2030.
Deepening AI and Technology Corridors Between Saudi Arabia and International Markets
HUMAIN’s $10 billion fund will invest in multinational companies, from China and the US to Europe, further expanding the digital corridor between Saudi Arabia and these critical markets.
The bold move is set to attract global investments and talents that can lead the next wave of AI innovation, both domestically and internationally.
It comes as part of HUMAIN’s broader expansion strategy, which includes establishing a 1.9 gigawatt data center capacity by 2030, with plans to scale up to 6.6 gigawatts within four years. These objectives aim to meet rising computing needs as more businesses embrace AI and cloud solutions to streamline and digitally transform their operations.
The PIF-backed entity is set to create an interconnected landscape essential for investors to capture opportunities within each layer of the AI value chain.
In doing so, it provides investors and foreign companies with diverse and efficient ways to invest and directly engage with the Saudi digital economy, the largest in the region.
The launch of HUMAIN has significant implications for the global AI landscape and signals a strategic shift to transform the Kingdom from an AI adopter into a global AI developer and exporter.
A pivotal goal of HUMAIN is to develop next-generation data centers, computing infrastructure, cloud technologies, and advanced AI models, including one of the world’s most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models tailored to Saudi Arabia’s cultural and economic nuances.
To realize these objectives, HUMAIN seeks to strengthen the country’s local capabilities and contribute to the development of a state-of-the-art computing infrastructure, positioning Saudi Arabia as a leader in the global AI race.
Creating New Pathways for International AI Business Expansion in Saudi Arabia
While HUMAIN forms a breakthrough in Saudi Arabia’s AI push, it adds to a series of initiatives and foundational policies aimed at supercharging the AI economy. Flagship policies such as the National Strategy for Data and AI (SDAIA) lay the groundwork for wide AI deployment across multiple industries, from manufacturing and energy to logistics, telecom and the public sector.
The broader goal is to enhance Saudi digital public infrastructure and improve digital access to government services.
The upskilling of the workforce is a key component of embracing AI in Saudi. The government’s flagship initiative, One Million Saudis in AI (SAMAI), for example, aims to train one million citizens in AI skills.
Moreover, SADIA has ambitious targets to train 20,000 AI specialists and establish over 300 AI startups by 2030. One of SADIA’s flagship initiatives is the AI Academy, launched last year in collaboration with NVIDIA.
This growing emphasis on AI talent development has made Saudi Arabia a focal point for global companies’ AI initiatives.
During LEAP 2025, Microsoft launched the first Microsoft Datacenter Academy (DCA) in Saudi Arabia. The initiative is a collaboration between Microsoft and the National IT Academy (NITA).
Additionally, AI consultancy Artefact is one of the key contributors to accelerating AI proficiency among local talent. Following the success of its School of Data in Paris, France, Artefact’s founding country, the AI leader is set to introduce a similar initiative to Saudi Arabia.
The initiative aims to democratize access to data and train 1000 individuals on digital skills over the next three years, according to Rahul Arya, CEO and managing partner of Artefact.
Artefact is among a growing list of AI firms that expanded to Saudi Arabia via AstroLabs.
The AstroLabs’ expansion network features global IT giants such as Bespin Global, an e& enterprise.
With its strategic entry in Saudi Arabia, Bespin seeks to capitalize on the accelerated uptake of AI and cloud adoption across industries.
As it scales its presence nationwide, Bespin looks to empower Saudi firms to use AI-driven cloud capabilities and achieve full digital transformation, further advancing the Kingdom’s efforts to foster a diversified and knowledge-based economy.