The Saudi AI Timeline
From the first research labs to national compute. Every milestone, with sources.
- Jump to year
- 1977–2026
- The Saudi AI Timeline
- 112 milestones
- landmarks
- 32
1977–2017
Foundations
Research institutions, Vision 2030 and the first giga-project announcements set the stage.
1977
1 milestone
2009
1 milestone
2016
2 milestones
- Landmark · Policy
Mohammed bin Salman unveils Saudi Vision 2030
On 25 April 2016 the then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced Saudi Vision 2030, approved by the Council of Ministers, in a television interview with Al Arabiya.
Read
- · Investment
PIF and SoftBank sign MoU for tech-focused Vision Fund
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Japan's SoftBank Group signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on 14 October 2016 to create the SoftBank Vision…
2017
3 milestones
- · Events
First Future Investment Initiative opens in Riyadh
The inaugural Future Investment Initiative (FII), organized by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), ran from 24 to 26 October 2017 at the King Abdulaziz International Confe…
- Landmark · Giga-projects
Crown Prince unveils NEOM, a $500bn tech-led megacity zone
At the first Future Investment Initiative, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced NEOM, a planned business and industrial zone of about 26,500 square kilometers on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
Read
- Landmark · AI
Saudi Arabia grants citizenship to humanoid robot Sophia
During a panel at the first Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin announced that Sophia, a humanoid robot built by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, had been granted Saudi citizenship, making Saudi Arabia the…
Read
2019–2022
Building the institutions
SDAIA, the national data and AI strategy and the personal data law create the rulebook.
2019
2 milestones
- · Talent
Abdullah Alghamdi appointed to lead SDAIA by royal order
Dr.
- Landmark · Policy
Royal decree establishes SDAIA as national data and AI authority
A royal decree dated 30 August 2019 established the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), linked directly to the Prime Minister.
Read
2020
3 milestones
- · Data Centers
Oracle opens Jeddah region, first public cloud region in Saudi Arabia
Oracle launched its Generation 2 Cloud region in Jeddah, becoming the first public cloud provider with a region inside Saudi Arabia, and said it planned a further region…
- · Gov-Tech
SDAIA's Tawakkalna app, launched in 2020, is reported to serve 34m users
The Tawakkalna app was launched in May 2020, originally for COVID-19 management, and is built and operated by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA…
- Landmark · Policy
SDAIA launches National Strategy for Data and AI at first Global AI Summit
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) unveiled the National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI) on 21 October 2020 at the first Global AI Summit, held virtually.
Read
2021
1 milestone
2022
7 milestones
- · Events
LEAP22 opens in Riyadh; $6.4bn of tech investments reported
The first LEAP technology conference opened in Riyadh on 1 February 2022 and was reported to have secured $6.4 billion of investments in future technologies.
- · Investment
Aramco launches $1bn Prosperity7 Ventures at LEAP22
Aramco publicly launched Prosperity7 Ventures, a $1 billion venture fund, on 2 February 2022 at LEAP22, although it had operated for more than a year.
- · Startups
Saudi AI firm Mozn raises $10m Series A led by Raed Ventures
Mozn, a Riyadh-based AI company focused on Arabic natural-language understanding and risk management, raised a $10 million Series A led by Raed Ventures, with Shorooq Pa…
- · Startups
Foodics raises $170m Series C led by Prosus and Sanabil
Saudi restaurant-technology and fintech platform Foodics closed a $170 million Series C co-led by Prosus and Sanabil Investments, with participation from Sequoia Capital…
- · Startups
Tamara raises $100m Series B led by Sanabil
Saudi buy-now-pay-later fintech Tamara raised a $100 million Series B equity round led by Sanabil Investments.
- · Events
Second Global AI Summit draws 15,000 participants in Riyadh
The second Global AI Summit, organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), ran for three days from 13 September 2022 at the King Abdulaziz I…
- · Events
FII6 closes with more than $9bn of deals
The sixth Future Investment Initiative ran from 25 to 27 October 2022 in Riyadh.
2023–2024
Acceleration
Hyperscale cloud regions, LEAP deal-making and the first Saudi Arabic language models.
2023
10 milestones
- · Investment
Oracle commits $1.5bn to Saudi cloud regions, including Riyadh
Oracle signed a memorandum with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to invest $1.5 billion in the Kingdom, adding a Riyadh public cloud…
- · Investment
Microsoft announces $2.1bn for a hyperscale cloud in Saudi Arabia
At LEAP 2023 Microsoft announced $2.1 billion for a hyperscale cloud in the Kingdom.
- · Events
LEAP23 in Riyadh announces about $9bn of tech investments
LEAP 2023 ran from 6 to 9 February 2023 in Riyadh and announced about $9 billion of investments; a later organizer recap puts the total at more than $9.5 billion.
- · Policy
Royal decree amends the Personal Data Protection Law
Royal Decree M/148 of 27 March 2023 amended the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL).
- · Policy
Cabinet approves International Center for AI Research and Ethics
On 25 July 2023 the Cabinet approved the creation of the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) in Riyadh, with legal personality and financial and adm…
- · Policy
SDAIA publishes AI Ethics Principles version 2.0
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) published version 2.0 of its AI Ethics Principles on 14 September 2023.
- Landmark · Policy
PDPL takes effect; full enforcement follows in September 2024
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) published the Implementing Regulations of the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and the Personal Data Transfer Regulations on 7 September 2023, a week before the amended law to…
Read
- · Talent
Tareq Amin, ex-Rakuten Symphony chief, joins Aramco Digital as CEO
Tareq Amin, previously CEO of Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony, joined Aramco Digital as CEO, as reported on 17 October 2023.
- · Data Centers
Google Cloud opens Dammam region in Saudi Arabia
Google Cloud announced the opening of its Dammam cloud region on 15 November 2023 at a launch attended by CEO Thomas Kurian, with services sold in the Kingdom through th…
- · Startups
Tamara raises $340m Series C, becomes Saudi fintech unicorn
Tamara announced a $340 million Series C on 18 December 2023, co-led by SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments at a $1 billion valuation, making it the Kingdom's first home…
2024
23 milestones
- · Policy
SDAIA issues generative AI guidelines for government and the public
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) published its Generative AI Guidelines for government entities on 10 January 2024 and a companion version fo…
- · Investment
PIF unveils Alat, an advanced technology company with $100bn planned by 2030
In February 2024 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced Alat, a new company of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) intended to build the Kingdom's electronics and advan…
- · Startups
Salla raises $130m pre-IPO round led by Investcorp and Sanabil
Saudi e-commerce enablement platform Salla raised $130 million in a pre-IPO equity round co-led by Investcorp and Sanabil Investments, with participation from STV, Bloom…
- · Events
LEAP24 opens in Riyadh with $11.9bn in announced investments
LEAP 2024 ran from 4 to 7 March 2024 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center.
- · Data Centers
DataVolt pledges $5bn for 300MW+ of Saudi data centers
At LEAP 2024, DataVolt, a Riyadh-based developer founded in 2023, committed $5 billion to build new data centers in the Kingdom with combined capacity above 300 megawatt…
- Landmark · Data Centers
AWS commits $5.3bn to a Saudi cloud region
Announced at LEAP 2024, Amazon Web Services (AWS) committed more than $5.3 billion (SAR 19.88 billion) to build its first infrastructure region in Saudi Arabia, initially slated for 2026.
Read
- Landmark · AI
Aramco unveils Metabrain, a 250bn-parameter industrial AI model
At LEAP 2024 Aramco unveiled Aramco Metabrain AI, which the company describes as the industry's first generative AI model, with 250 billion parameters trained on 7 trillion data points from its roughly 90-year history.
Read
- · Investment
Report: PIF in talks with a16z on a $40bn AI investment fund
On 19-20 March 2024 The New York Times reported that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) was in talks with Andreessen Horowitz and possibly other firms on a roughly $40 bil…
- Landmark · AI
SDAIA and IBM launch ALLaM Arabic LLM on watsonx
On 21 May 2024, at IBM's Think Boston, SDAIA and IBM announced that SDAIA's Arabic large language model ALLaM is available on IBM's watsonx platform, where clients can train, tune and deploy it through watsonx.ai.
Read
- · AI
KAUST launches Center of Excellence on Generative AI
KAUST announced its Center of Excellence on Generative AI on 1 July 2024, chaired by Bernard Ghanem with Jürgen Schmidhuber as co-chair.
- · Startups
Intelmatix raises $20m Series A for EDIX decision-intelligence platform
Saudi deep-tech company Intelmatix raised a $20 million Series A on 30 July 2024, led by Shorooq Partners.
- · Data Centers
Oracle opens second Saudi public cloud region in Riyadh
Oracle announced on 6 August 2024 that its second public cloud region in the Kingdom, in Riyadh, was open, as part of a $1.5 billion investment.
- · Talent
SDAIA launches 'One Million Saudis in AI' (SAMAI) program
In September 2024, at the third Global AI Summit, Education Minister Yousef Al-Benyan and SDAIA President Abdullah Alghamdi launched the One Million Saudis in AI initiat…
- Landmark · Events
Third Global AI Summit draws 30,000 delegates to Riyadh
The third Global AI Summit, organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), ran from 10 to 12 September 2024 and reported more than 30,000 delegates, more than 450 speakers from 100 countries, 150 sessions, more…
Read
- · Policy
SDAIA announces UNESCO Category 2 status for ICAIRE at Global AI Summit
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced on 11 September 2024 at the Global AI Summit that the International Center for AI Research and Eth…
- · Policy
SDAIA publishes national AI Adoption Framework
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) published its AI Adoption Framework on 12 September 2024, during the Global AI Summit.
- · Gov-Tech
Saudi Arabia jumps to sixth in UN e-government ranking
The 2024 UN E-Government Survey placed Saudi Arabia in the 'Very High' category, sixth worldwide in the E-Government Development Index (EGDI), up 25 places from 31st in…
- · Data Centers
Groq and Aramco Digital plan 'world's largest' AI inference center
In September 2024 Groq and Aramco Digital disclosed a plan to build what they called the world's largest AI inference data center in Saudi Arabia, starting with 19,000 l…
- · Investment
Aramco's Wa'ed Ventures earmarks $100m for AI startups
Wa'ed Ventures, Aramco's wholly owned venture arm, allocated $100 million from its $500 million fund to early-stage AI investments, aiming to position Saudi Arabia as a…
- · Events
FII8 closes in Riyadh with $70bn of announced deals
The eighth Future Investment Initiative ran from 29 to 31 October 2024 in Riyadh, with organizers expecting 7,000 participants and about 520 global CEOs.
- Landmark · Investment
PIF and Google Cloud sign deal for Saudi global AI hub near Dammam
At FII8, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Google Cloud announced a partnership to create a global AI hub near Dammam in the Eastern Province, with research on Arabic models and Saudi-specific AI applications and AI programs for million…
Read
- Landmark · Investment
Bloomberg: Saudi plans up to $100bn 'Project Transcendence' AI group
Bloomberg reported on 6 November 2024 that Saudi Arabia was planning a government-backed AI and data-infrastructure group, code-named Project Transcendence, with funding of $50-100 billion, modeled on PIF's Alat.
Read
- · Startups
Lean Technologies raises $67.5m Series B led by General Catalyst
Riyadh-based open-banking and payments infrastructure company Lean Technologies raised a $67.5 million Series B led by General Catalyst, with Bain Capital Ventures, the…
2025–2026
The national compute era
HUMAIN, gigawatt-scale data centers and frontier AI partnerships with the world's largest chipmakers.
2025
33 milestones
- · Giga-projects
DataVolt signs $5bn deal for 1.5GW AI data center campus at NEOM's Oxagon
In February 2025 NEOM and DataVolt agreed a $5 billion net-zero, AI-focused data center campus at Oxagon, planned to reach 1.5 GW with a first 300 MW phase operational i…
- · Data Centers
Groq switches on Dammam AI inference cluster, which it calls EMEA's largest
Groq announced at LEAP 2025 that its second GroqCloud region, in Dammam, built with Aramco Digital, is live, and it called the site the largest AI inferencing facility i…
- · Investment
Alat and Lenovo commit $2bn to Riyadh AI and robotics manufacturing hub
At LEAP 2025, PIF's Alat and Lenovo announced an advanced manufacturing and technology center integrating AI and robotics in Riyadh, with $2 billion of investment and a…
- Landmark · Events
LEAP25 opens with $14.9bn in announced AI and tech investments
LEAP 2025 ran from 9 to 12 February 2025 in Riyadh.
Read
- · AI
SDAIA lists ALLaM 7B on Hugging Face
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced on 6 March 2025 that its ALLaM 7B model was listed on Hugging Face, making the Arabic-focused mode…
- Landmark · Policy
CST publishes draft Global AI Hub Law with 'data embassies'
On 14 April 2025 the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) opened public consultation, until 14 May 2025, on a draft Global AI Hub Law.
Read
- · Talent
Tareq Amin takes the helm as HUMAIN CEO
Tareq Amin was appointed CEO of HUMAIN in May 2025 when the PIF company launched.
- Landmark · AI
Crown Prince launches HUMAIN, PIF's full-stack AI company
On 12 May 2025, on the eve of President Trump's visit, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, PIF chairman, had launched HUMAIN to operate and invest across the AI value chain: data centers, AI in…
Read
- · Data Centers
AWS and HUMAIN announce $5bn-plus 'AI Zone' in Saudi Arabia
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and HUMAIN announced an AI Zone with investment of more than $5 billion, combining AWS infrastructure, semiconductors and UltraCluster networki…
- Landmark · Investment
Saudi Arabia pledges $600bn US investment during Trump visit
During President Trump's Gulf visit, Saudi Arabia pledged $600 billion of investments in the United States, with $300 billion of deals reportedly signed at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on 13 May 2025.
Read
- Landmark · Data Centers
Nvidia to supply HUMAIN with 18,000 GB300 chips in first tranche
At the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on 13 May 2025, Nvidia said it would supply HUMAIN with more than 18,000 of its latest GB300 Grace Blackwell chips with InfiniBand networking in a first deployment, and several hundred thousand pr…
Read
- Landmark · Investment
AMD and HUMAIN announce up to $10bn AI infrastructure collaboration
AMD announced a collaboration with HUMAIN involving investment of up to $10 billion to build about 500 MW of AI compute capacity, with reports describing facilities in both Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Read
- · Investment
STV launches Google-backed AI fund that it sizes at $100m
Saudi venture firm STV announced an AI fund backed by Google and sized by STV at $100 million.
- · Investment
DataVolt and Supermicro sign MoU for at least $20bn of AI systems
Supermicro and DataVolt signed a memorandum of understanding on 16 May 2025 to build hyperscale AI campuses, initially in Saudi Arabia, with Supermicro supplying ultra-d…
- Landmark · Policy
MCIT and SDAIA issue National Data Center Strategy targeting 1.5GW by 2030
In June 2025 the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) launched the National Data Center Strategy, targeting up to 1.5 gigawatts of data center capacit…
Read
- · Startups
Lucidya raises $30m Series B, which it calls Saudi Arabia's largest AI round
Lucidya, a Riyadh-based AI customer-experience platform founded in 2016, closed a $30 million Series B led by Impact46, with Wa'ed Ventures, Takamol Ventures, SparkLabs…
- · AI
Saudi Arabia hosts OpenAI open models via HUMAIN-Groq partnership
On 6 August 2025 HUMAIN and Groq announced the Middle East's first deployment of OpenAI's open-weight gpt-oss-120B and gpt-oss-20B models, running on Groq's inference in…
- · Data Centers
HUMAIN breaks ground on first data centers in Riyadh and Dammam
HUMAIN began construction of its first data centers in Riyadh and Dammam in late August 2025, with initial capacity of up to 100 MW each and a launch then expected in th…
- Landmark · AI
HUMAIN launches Arabic chat app powered by ALLaM 34B
HUMAIN launched HUMAIN Chat on web, iOS and Android on 25 August 2025, initially for users in Saudi Arabia, powered by the new ALLaM 34B model.
Read
- · Data Centers
HUMAIN and Qualcomm plan 200MW of AI200/AI250 inference racks
HUMAIN and Qualcomm announced a collaboration to deploy 200 MW of Qualcomm AI200 and AI250 rack-scale AI inference solutions in Saudi Arabia beginning in 2026, which the…
- · AI
HUMAIN unveils HUMAIN One, which it calls the first AI operating system
At FII9 HUMAIN unveiled HUMAIN One, which it describes as the world's first AI operating system, consolidating HR, finance, procurement and productivity tasks in a langu…
- · Events
FII9 closes with over $50bn in deals and pledges
The ninth Future Investment Initiative ran from 27 to 30 October 2025 in Riyadh under the theme 'The Key to Prosperity', ending with more than $50 billion in signed agre…
- · Investment
HUMAIN and Blackstone-backed AirTrunk plan data center campus with $3bn start
On 28 October 2025 HUMAIN and AirTrunk, backed by Blackstone and CPP Investments, announced a partnership to build and operate data centers in Saudi Arabia, with an init…
- Landmark · Investment
Aramco signs term sheet for significant minority stake in HUMAIN
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco signed a non-binding term sheet on 28 October 2025 under which Aramco would acquire a significant minority stake in HUMAIN, with PIF keeping majority ownership and both contributing AI assets, ca…
Read
- · Talent
SAMAI trains more than one million Saudis in AI, 52% of them women
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced at a gala in…
- Landmark · Policy
US and Saudi Arabia sign strategic AI memorandum of understanding
President Trump and the Crown Prince announced a new AI memorandum of understanding during their White House meeting on 18 November 2025, which gives Saudi Arabia access to US technology systems with protections against use by adversaries.
Read
- Landmark · Investment
Crown Prince lifts planned US investment to nearly $1 trillion
On 18 November 2025, in the Oval Office, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia would raise its planned investment in the US economy to nearly $1 trillion over the next year, up from the $600 billion Trump had cited.
Read
- · Investment
HUMAIN leads $900m Series C in Luma AI at $4bn valuation
Luma AI raised a $900 million Series C led by HUMAIN, with AMD Ventures and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the video-AI company at $4 billion.
- · Data Centers
AMD, Cisco and HUMAIN set up joint venture for up to 1GW of AI infrastructure
AMD, Cisco and HUMAIN announced a joint venture in November 2025, around the US-Saudi Investment Forum, to deploy up to 1 GW of AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia by 2030.
- Landmark · Policy
US approves up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips each for HUMAIN and G42
The US Commerce Department said on 19 November 2025 that it approved exports of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips each to Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN and the UAE's G42.
Read
- Landmark · Data Centers
xAI and HUMAIN to build 500MW data center in Saudi Arabia
Elon Musk announced at the US-Saudi Investment Forum on 19 November 2025 that xAI, HUMAIN and Nvidia will build a 500 MW AI data center in Saudi Arabia, powered by Nvidia chips.
Read
- Landmark · Data Centers
HUMAIN and Nvidia plan up to 600,000 GPUs over three years
At the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, HUMAIN and Nvidia announced an expanded partnership to deploy up to 600,000 Nvidia GPUs, including GB300 Blackwell platforms, over three years across Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Read
- · Data Centers
stc's center3 and HUMAIN sign MoU for AI data center joint venture
stc's subsidiary center3 and HUMAIN signed an MoU on 18 December 2025 to form a joint venture, 51% HUMAIN and 49% stc, to develop and operate AI-focused data centers wit…
2026
26 milestones
- · Startups
Saudi Arabia leads Middle East VC in 2025 with $1.72bn, per MAGNiTT
MAGNiTT's annual report, covered in January 2026, showed Saudi Arabia as the Middle East's largest venture market in 2025, with $1.72 billion raised, up 145% year on yea…
- Landmark · Data Centers
SDAIA lays foundation stone for 480MW Hexagon government data center
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) laid the foundation stone in early January 2026 for Hexagon, a 480 MW government data center in Riyadh covering about 30 million square feet, which SDAIA describes as the world's…
Read
- · Investment
HUMAIN and National Infrastructure Fund agree $1.2bn financing framework
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the National Infrastructure Fund (Infra) and HUMAIN announced a non-binding financing framework of up to $1.2 bill…
- · Talent
SDAIA launches SAMAI 2 and 40 AI academic programs at ICAN 2026
At the International Conference on Data and AI Capacity Building (ICAN 2026) at King Saud University, Education Minister Yousef Al-Benyan and Saudi Data and Artificial I…
- · AI
HUMAIN unveils agentic HUMAIN OS at PIF Private Sector Forum
At the Public Investment Fund's Private Sector Forum in Riyadh (9-10 February 2026), HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin presented HUMAIN OS, an AI-native, intent-driven operating sys…
- · Data Centers
Microsoft confirms Saudi Arabia East cloud region for Q4 2026
Microsoft confirmed in February 2026 that customers will be able to run workloads from its Saudi Arabia East datacenter region in the Eastern Province from the fourth qu…
- Landmark · Policy
Saudi Arabia becomes first Arab country to join the Global Partnership on AI
Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Abdullah Alghamdi announced at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 that Saudi Arabia had become the first Arab member of the OECD-hosted Global Partnership on Artificial Intell…
Read
- · Data Centers
Operational data center capacity reaches 467MW in Q1 2026, per official figures
Saudi Arabia's operational data center capacity reached 467 MW in the first quarter of 2026, up from 68 MW in 2021, according to official Saudi figures cited by Fortune…
- · AI
Aramco reports $5.3bn technology value for 2025, $2.6bn from AI
With its 2025 results, Aramco reported Technology Realized Value of $5.3 billion, of which $2.6 billion was attributed directly to AI-driven solutions across about 500 u…
- Landmark · Policy
Cabinet designates 2026 as Saudi Arabia's 'Year of Artificial Intelligence'
The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by video conference on Tuesday 10 March 2026, designated 2026 the Year of Artificial Intelligence.
Read
- · Policy
SDAIA opens consultation on draft Responsible AI Policy with four risk tiers
On 3 April 2026 the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) opened a one-month consultation, closing 3 May 2026, on a draft Responsible AI Policy applyi…
- · AI
Saudi AI company registrations reach 19,638 in 2025, up 240% since 2021
The Ministry of Commerce's Q1 2026 business-sector bulletin, reported on 7-8 April 2026, showed commercial registrations in the AI sector at 19,638 in 2025, up about 240…
- · Startups
a16z leads $25m Series A in Saudi fintech Stitch, reportedly its first Gulf bet
Andreessen Horowitz led a $25 million Series A in Stitch, a cloud-native operating system for financial institutions, in what Arab News described as the firm's first Gul…
- · AI
HUMAIN names Accenture its strategic reinvention and AI partner in Saudi Arabia
HUMAIN appointed Accenture as its Strategic Reinvention and AI Partner in Saudi Arabia in May 2026.
- · AI
HUMAIN to bring Nvidia DRIVE Hyperion robotaxi platform to Saudi Arabia
At Nvidia GTC Taipei on 1 June 2026, Nvidia said HUMAIN is working to introduce robotaxis built on the DRIVE Hyperion platform in Saudi Arabia, extending the platform's…
- · Startups
Saudi startups raise $93.5m in July 2026; UAE takes 96.8% of regional funding
entArabi's monthly investment report put Saudi startup funding at $93.5 million across seven deals (five disclosed) in July 2026, or 2.8% of regional funding.
- · AI
HUMAIN and Canada's Cohere agree to collaborate on AI compute and sovereign models
HUMAIN and Canada's Cohere announced on 9 July 2026 a collaboration covering AI compute and sovereign AI models, according to a joint statement reported from Riyadh.
- · Giga-projects
DataVolt and HUMAIN start building 100MW AI data center at NEOM's Oxagon
DataVolt and HUMAIN launched construction of a 100 MW AI data center at Oxagon in NEOM, the first part of a 360 MW phase of the campus, with the first 100 MW expected to…
- · Data Centers
AWS confirms December 2026 launch of Saudi region and 50MW AI Zone by 2028
At LEAP 2026 Amazon Web Services (AWS) said its first Saudi infrastructure region, an investment of more than $5.3 billion (SAR 19.88 billion), is on track to launch in…
- Landmark · Events
LEAP 2026 closes with nearly $15bn in AI and infrastructure announcements
The fifth LEAP, under the theme 'Into New Worlds', ran from 31 August to 3 September 2026 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham, and closed with nearly $15 billion in launches, investments and agreements, according to th…
Read
- · Data Centers
Together AI and HUMAIN plan 250MW Saudi data center targeting $5bn revenue
At LEAP 2026 Together AI and HUMAIN announced a 250 MW data center in Saudi Arabia to serve AI training and inference workloads across Europe, the Middle East and Africa…
- · Investment
LEAP 2026 day two adds $2.5bn for data centers and cloud
On day two of LEAP 2026, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) reported about $2.5 billion in new investments.
- · Data Centers
HUMAIN launches Nvidia Blackwell Ultra cloud at 1.1MW, targets 35MW in 2027
HUMAIN launched its Nvidia-powered AI cloud, running HGX B300 Blackwell Ultra systems, with 1.1 MW of operational capacity, per Enterprise, and utilization above 90%, pe…
- · AI
HUMAIN unveils humain-m3, a 428bn-parameter Arabic model built with MiniMax
At LEAP on 3 September 2026 HUMAIN announced humain-m3, a 428-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts Arabic model commissioned from MiniMax and further pre-trained on more…
- · Investment
HUMAIN prepares IPO and outside capital, Fortune reports
Fortune reported on 9 September 2026 that HUMAIN has begun preparations for an IPO.
- Landmark · Events
Riyadh hosts Global AI Week with the fourth GAIN Summit and UNESCO ethics forum
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) scheduled the fourth Global AI Summit (GAIN) for 15-17 September 2026, at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center under the patronage of the Crown Prince.
Read
Questions answered
- What is Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA)?
- The Kingdom's national authority for data and artificial intelligence, established by royal decree in August 2019. Stories about it in the Cicada archive since 2019: 25.
- What is HUMAIN?
- Saudi artificial intelligence company owned by the Public Investment Fund, launched in May 2025 to build AI infrastructure, models and services. Stories about it in the Cicada archive since 2023: 35.
- What is ALLaM?
- Arabic large language model developed by SDAIA. Stories about it in the Cicada archive since 2024: 4.
- What is Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL)?
- Saudi Arabia's personal data protection law, supervised by SDAIA. Stories about it in the Cicada archive since 2021: 3.
- What is Global AI Summit (GAIN)?
- International AI conference hosted by SDAIA in Riyadh, first held in 2020. Stories about it in the Cicada archive since 2020: 4.
- What is LEAP?
- Annual technology conference in Riyadh, first held in 2022, where many Saudi AI and cloud investments are announced. Stories about it in the Cicada archive since 2022: 7.