The artificial intelligence landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by increasing model complexity and a corresponding surge in computational demands. To meet these demands, innovative collaborations are emerging, such as the partnership between Humain, a new AI company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Nvidia, a global leader in AI computing infrastructure. Together, they are embarking on an ambitious project to construct massive, next-generation data centers, or "AI factories," with an initial projected capacity of 500 megawatts.
Humain, launched in May 2025 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is designed to operate and invest across the entire AI value chain. The company's mission is to position Saudi Arabia as a global AI hub, combining cutting-edge infrastructure, advanced AI models (including Arabic multimodal LLMs), and human capital development. This partnership with Nvidia is a crucial step in achieving this goal, aligning perfectly with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the kingdom's economy beyond oil and establish it as a leader in futuristic technologies.
The core of this collaboration lies in building hyperscale AI data centers within Saudi Arabia. These "AI factories" will be powered by hundreds of thousands of Nvidia's most advanced GPUs. The initial phase involves deploying an 18,000-unit Nvidia GB300 Grace Blackwell AI supercomputer, interconnected by Nvidia's InfiniBand networking. These data centers will provide a secure and robust infrastructure for training and deploying sovereign AI models at scale, enabling various industries across Saudi Arabia and the world to accelerate innovation and digital transformation.
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, aptly stated that Saudi Arabia is transforming its energy into intelligence, calling these data centers "AI factories." This initiative signifies a strategic move by Saudi Arabia to establish a new form of digital oil and become a global leader, not just a user, in the AI revolution.
Beyond hardware, the partnership extends to software and workforce development. Humain will deploy Nvidia's Omniverse platform as a multi-tenant system to accelerate the era of physical AI and robotics through simulation, optimization, and operation of physical environments using human-AI-led solutions. This will allow industries like manufacturing, logistics, and energy to create fully integrated digital twins, boosting efficiency, safety, and sustainability, while fast-tracking the Kingdom's journey toward Industry 4.0. To support this technological leap, Humain and Nvidia will collaborate on large-scale upskilling and training initiatives, providing thousands of Saudi citizens and developers with hands-on experience in advanced AI, simulation, robotics, and digital twin technologies. This will contribute to building a robust national AI ecosystem and align with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals of economic diversification and digital leadership.
The broader implications of this collaboration are significant. Gulf nations are strategically positioning themselves in the technology market through substantial investments, aiming to develop sovereign AI capabilities. Advanced AI chips are globally scarce, creating a competitive environment where nations with access to substantial computing power gain economic and technological advantages. Saudi Arabia's initiative follows similar investments from neighboring Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The rise of AI is influencing data center infrastructure trends, with increasing demands for power, cooling, and scalability. Average power densities have more than doubled in just two years, and AI-ready data centers require innovative solutions for energy management and sustainability. Future trends point to increased demand for specialized computing power, a greater focus on energy efficiency, and the need for data centers to adapt to more demanding, complex, and dynamic workloads. This collaboration is part of the Middle East's push to build sovereign AI capabilities at a time when countries worldwide are racing to secure computing resources.
