How This Saudi Startup Is Building a Global Network of AI Partnerships
Humain announced a collaboration with Qualcomm to deploy advanced AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, designed to deliver edge-to-cloud hybrid AI inferencing services at scale.
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[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR Middle East]
Less than a year old Saudi Arabia AI startup Humain, launched by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and a public investment fund (PIF)-owned company, is going strong in its mission to make the Kingdom a global leader in AI innovation and infrastructure.
“The company will enable capabilities to develop and deliver AI solutions locally, regionally, and globally. Humain aspires to both enhance human capabilities and support the unlocking of new possibilities through the digital economy,” read an official PIF blog.
The startup is expected to offer one of the world’s most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models (LLMs). In the past few days alone, Humain has made several notable partnerships and product announcements, accelerating its work towards the AI goals, one being the startup’s partnership with Replit at FII9 to establish the foundation for regional AI sovereignty and innovation. By fostering local talent, supporting sovereign AI infrastructure, and enabling GCC nations to build their own software future, the collaboration sets the stage for a new era of AI-driven growth across the region.
“The first version of Replit was built in the Middle East, and now we’re coming full circle to help empower a new generation of AI coders here. Together with Humain, we’re making it possible for anyone in the GCC, from students to enterprises, to go from idea to working software using natural language,” said Amjad Masad, CEO, Replit.
In a significant development, Saudi Aramco and the PIF announced the signing of a non-binding term sheet for Aramco to acquire a significant minority stake in Humain, with PIF retaining its majority holding. “By combining PIF and Aramco’s AI assets under Humain, we are fueling AI talent, innovation, and intellectual property, while aligning and accelerating future investment opportunities,” said Yazeed A Al-Humied, Deputy Governor and Head of MENA Investments at PIF.
Building on that momentum, Humain is forming a long-term strategic alliance with AirTrunk—a leading Asia-Pacific data center platform—and Blackstone to develop next-generation data centers and AI infrastructure across Saudi Arabia. The partners plan an initial investment of approximately US$3 billion for a major data center campus in the Kingdom, marking AirTrunk’s entry into the Middle East.
Humain also announced a collaboration with Qualcomm to deploy advanced AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, designed to deliver edge-to-cloud hybrid AI inferencing services at scale. “By establishing advanced AI data centers powered by Qualcomm’s industry-leading inference solutions, we are helping the Kingdom create a technology ecosystem that will accelerate its AI ambitions of becoming a hub of intelligent computing,” said Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm.
Further strengthening its enterprise capabilities, the startup has partnered with EY to integrate the latter’s AI-powered business solutions into HUMAIN ONE, its proprietary agentic AI platform built on ALLAM—the world’s most advanced Arabic large language model. “By embedding our proven AI business solutions into HUMAIN ONE, and leveraging the cultural and linguistic power of ALLAM, we can help governments and enterprises operate with new levels of trust, agility, and use AI for good in Saudi Arabia and worldwide,” said Joe Depa, EY’s Global Chief Innovation Officer.
Continuing its rapid innovation cycle, Humain is also preparing to launch a new AI-based operating system that allows users to verbally command computers to perform tasks. “Rather than looking at icons where you click for discrete applications, now you speak your intent,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, during the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh.
