• Saudi Arabia’s Humain plans a USD 10B VC fund to invest in global AI startups and attract major US tech players.
• Backed by the PIF, Humain aims to conquer AI, from language models to chip in order to solidify Saudi’s role in the global AI race.
• New legislation and electricity subsidies make Saudi data centers more appealing by easing legal compliance for foreign AI companies.
  

Humain

So what is happening? Saudi newly launched Humain is planning to launch a USD 10 billion venture capital fund. Additionally, it is seeking investment from US tech companies. 

The plan is for the fund to launch this summer with an initial plan of investing in startups in the US, Europe and Asia. Moreover, the fund is aiming to place Saudi Arabia as a key player in every aspect of AI from investing, infrastructure and chip design. 

In talks with the Financial Times, Tareq Amin, Chief Executive of Humain detailed that he is in talks with American companies such as  OpenAI, Elon Musk’s xAI and Andreessen Horowitz.

What is Humain? The Public Investment Fund’s new AI initiative, Humain, focuses on developing advanced Arabic language models. In addition to building AI infrastructure, with investments coming from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.

Attracting Tech Companies The kingdom is expected to pass legislation allowing for data centers to be regulated under the laws of the country of origin of the tenant  AI company. Additionally, they are offering subsidies on electricity prices for data centers to attract them into the kingdom.

It makes Saudi Arabia more attractive to global tech companies that are concerned about data sovereignty and compliance risks.

Why does this matter? This is part of Saudi’s push to become a tech and AI hub under Vision 2030.  It is clear that Saudi is targeting AI as a key growth sector with the aim of diversifying its economy.