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Saudi Aramco Takes Nearly Half of AI Company Humain

AI2 min read

Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled oil company, has bought 49 percent of Humain, a Saudi artificial intelligence (AI) company. The state fund PIF keeps the other 51 percent.

What happened

Saudi Aramco is taking a 49 percent stake in Humain, a Saudi AI company. To join, it is contributing about 2.6 billion US dollars plus existing assets in AI, computing infrastructure and digital services. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's state investment fund, keeps the remaining 51 percent. Aramco and the PIF are combining their AI activities in one company, and Aramco will provide extra money to grow Humain.

Key numbers

  • Aramco's stake: 49 percent. PIF's stake: 51 percent.
  • Aramco's cash contribution: about 2.6 billion US dollars, plus other assets whose value has not been given.
  • Planned data center capacity by 2030: 3 gigawatts (GW) of electrical power.
  • Building data centers costs about 11 to 12 million US dollars per megawatt, according to Humain's CEO. For 3 GW, that would be about 33 to 36 billion US dollars.
  • Long-term funding goal: 70 percent from outside investors and 30 percent from shareholders. This mix has not been reached yet.

Background on Humain

The PIF launched Humain in May 2025 as Saudi Arabia's main AI project. The company wants to cover almost the whole AI value chain. That includes building and running data centers, cloud services, AI models and finished apps. One of its models is ALLAM, which is designed for the Arabic language. Humain works with Nvidia, AMD, Cisco and AWS. Its first systems are already running and provide computing power to customers in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

Why it matters

Aramco is an oil company, so this deal shows it wants new sources of income beyond oil. It can sell its AI technology and may also supply the energy that AI data centers need, which use a lot of power. Cheap energy, available land and stable power prices are key advantages Humain says it has. The full cost is still unclear, because the value of Aramco's other contributed assets was not stated.

What to watch

  • How much money Humain actually raises from outside investors versus shareholders.
  • Whether the 3 GW data center plan moves forward on schedule by 2030.
  • How Aramco turns its AI technology into paying business.
  • Whether Aramco becomes a major power supplier for Humain's data centers.

Glossary

Saudi Aramco
Saudi Arabia's state-controlled oil company, which now also holds a stake in an AI firm.
Humain
A Saudi AI company that builds data centers, cloud services, AI models and apps.
PIF
Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's state investment fund that owns the rest of Humain.
ALLAM
An AI language model made for the Arabic language.

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