---
title: "Saudi AI Trackers: Investment, Data Centers, Funding, Regulation"
url: "https://cicadaconsultancy.online/en/trackers"
language: "en"
last_verified: "2026-10-03"
---


# Saudi AI Trackers: Investment, Data Centers, Funding, Regulation

Figures are announced commitments as reported at the time, in nominal US dollars, and are not audited spend. Each row links to its source. Where sources disagree, we use the primary source.

## Announced AI & data center investment

Announced investment: $48.7 bn

| By year announced, USD billions | USD bn |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2.1 |
| 2024 | 20.4 |
| 2025 | 23.6 |
| 2026 | 1.7 |

| Date | Who | With | USD bn | All commitments | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-10-14 | PIF | SoftBank Group | 45 | Non-binding MoU for SoftBank Vision Fund; PIF would consider up to $45bn over five years (SoftBank at least $25bn). Potentially $100bn with other investors. | https://www.arabnews.com/business/japans-softbank-signs-mou-with-public-investment-fund-of-saudi-arabia-997671 |
| 2017-10-24 | Saudi government / PIF | NEOM investors | 500 | NEOM zone announced at FII with planned contributions of more than $500bn from government, PIF and international investors. | https://gulfbusiness.com/en/2017/economy/saudi-unveils-500bn-plan-develop-border-region-jordan-egypt |
| 2022-02-02 | Aramco | Prosperity7 Ventures | 1 | Aramco publicly launches $1bn venture fund Prosperity7 at LEAP22. | https://www.unlock-bc.com/en/aramco-launches-a-1-billion-usd-vc-fund-to-invest-in-blockchain-and-other-tech |
| 2023-02-06 | Microsoft | Saudi Arabia (MCIT) | 2.1 | Announced at LEAP 2023 for a global super-scaler cloud in the Kingdom. | https://mena.entrepreneur.com/technology/leap23-announces-us9-billion-investments-in-tech-sectors/444444 |
| 2023-02-06 | Oracle | MCIT | 1.5 | MoU to invest in Saudi cloud regions including Riyadh, alongside Jeddah and planned NEOM. | https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/us-big-tech-oracle-to-build-3rd-cloud-region-in-saudi-arabia-part-of-a-15b-investment-1.1675670402790 |
| 2024-02 | PIF | Alat | 100 | Alat, a PIF company, plans $100bn of investment by 2030 in electronics and advanced industries (39,000 jobs targeted). | https://equalocean.com/news/2024022220536-saudi-pif-subsidiary-takes-dahua-throws-out-100-billion-investment-plan |
| 2024-03-04 | AWS | Saudi Arabia | 5.3 | First AWS infrastructure region in the Kingdom; launch confirmed for December 2026. | https://gulfbusiness.com/leap-2024-aws-ibm-dell-commit-11bn-investments/ |
| 2024-03-04 | DataVolt | Saudi Arabia | 5 | Data centres with combined capacity above 300 MW announced at LEAP 2024. | https://gulfbusiness.com/leap-2024-aws-ibm-dell-commit-11bn-investments/ |
| 2024-03-20 | PIF (reported) | Andreessen Horowitz (reported) | 40 | REPORTED talks on a roughly $40bn AI fund (NYT); no official confirmation found. | https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/03/20/saudi-arabia-in-talks-with-andreessen-horowitz-to-create-ai-fund.html |
| 2024-10-28 | Wa'ed Ventures (Aramco) | Early-stage AI startups | 0.1 | $100m allocation from the $500m Wa'ed fund for early-stage AI. | https://www.wamda.com/2024/10/waed-ventures-earmarks-100-million-invest-saudi-ai-sector |
| 2024-10-30 | PIF | Google Cloud | 10 | Global AI hub near Dammam; $10bn joint investment stated in May 2025 release (Oct 2024 announcement cited up to $71bn GDP impact). | https://www.googlecloudpresscorner.com/2025-05-13-Google-Cloud-and-PIF-Advance-AI-Hub-in-Saudi-Arabia |
| 2024-11-06 | Saudi government / PIF (reported) | Project Transcendence (reported) | 100 | REPORTED plan by Bloomberg for a $50-100bn AI and data-infrastructure group; never officially announced under this name in sources reviewed. | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-06/saudis-plan-100-billion-ai-powerhouse-to-rival-uae-s-tech-hub |
| 2025-02-09 | Groq and Aramco Digital | Saudi Arabia | 1.5 | Announced at LEAP 2025 as a $1.5bn Groq and Aramco Digital investment; Groq describes it as a $1.5bn commitment from Saudi Arabia for expanded LPU inference infrastructure. The Dammam cluster with 19,000 LPUs is live (online in December 2024 per Groq). | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/groq-emea-largest-ai-compute-centre |
| 2025-02-09 | Alat | Lenovo | 2 | Advanced manufacturing and technology centre integrating AI and robotics in Riyadh. | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| 2025-02-09 | Salesforce | Saudi Arabia | 0.5 | Hyperforce platform expansion announced at LEAP 2025. | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| 2025-02-09 | Databricks | Saudi Arabia | 0.3 | Data engineering and AI platforms investment announced at LEAP 2025. | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| 2025-02-09 | Tencent Cloud | Saudi Arabia | 0.15 | First Middle East cloud region announced at LEAP 2025. | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| 2025-02-09 | SambaNova | Saudi Arabia | 0.14 | Advanced AI infrastructure announced at LEAP 2025. | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| 2025-02 | DataVolt | NEOM / Oxagon | 5 | 1.5 GW net-zero AI data-centre campus at Oxagon (about $5bn, Feb 2025). The Feb 2025 plan cited a first 300 MW phase for 2028; in Aug 2026 construction began on a first 100 MW within a 360 MW phase, expected from 2028. | https://www.malaymail.com/news/tech-gadgets/2025/02/12/saudi-firm-to-invest-us5b-in-ai-data-centre-for-futuristic-neom-city/166453 |
| 2025-05-13 | Saudi Arabia | United States | 600 | Pledged US investment during Trump visit ($300bn of deals reportedly signed at the forum); later raised to nearly $1tn. | https://www.businessday.co.za/bd/world/2025-05-13-trump-praises-saudis-after-dollar600bn-investment-pledge-during-gulf-visit/ |
| 2025-05-13 | AMD | HUMAIN | 10 | Up to $10bn collaboration for about 500 MW of AI compute. | https://siliconangle.com/2025/05/13/nvidia-amd-amazon-cash-saudi-arabias-ai-hub-ambitions/ |
| 2025-05-13 | AWS | HUMAIN | 5 | AI Zone investment of more than $5bn (separate from the $5.3bn region). | https://siliconangle.com/2025/05/13/nvidia-amd-amazon-cash-saudi-arabias-ai-hub-ambitions/ |
| 2025-05-14 | STV | Google | 0.1 | STV's $100m AI fund (size per STV) for early-stage MENA AI startups, backed by Google; Google's own commitment is not disclosed. | https://www.wamda.com/2025/05/google-joins-forces-stv-boost-ai-innovation-mena |
| 2025-05-16 | DataVolt | Supermicro | 20 | MoU, not an investment commitment: $20bn is Supermicro's estimated minimum market value of the products contemplated (GPU platforms, storage, networking, liquid cooling), not DataVolt capital; subject to definitive agreements. | https://ir.supermicro.com/news/news-details/2025/Supermicro-Announces-Strategic-Partnership-with-DataVolt/ |
| 2025-10-28 | HUMAIN | AirTrunk (Blackstone, CPP Investments) | 3 | Initial investment for a data-centre campus in Saudi Arabia. | https://enterpriseam.com/ksa/2025/10/29/humain-steals-the-show-at-fii9-with-usd-3-bn-center-push-aramco-backing-and-product-launches/ |
| 2025-10-28 | Aramco | HUMAIN / PIF | — | Non-binding term sheet for a significant minority stake in HUMAIN; stake size and price undisclosed. | https://www.wamda.com/index.php/2025/10/pif-aramco-join-forces-humain-accelerate-saudi-arabia-ai-ambitions |
| 2025-11-18 | Saudi Arabia | United States | 1000 | Crown Prince said planned US investment would rise to nearly $1tn over the next year (political pledge). | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/saudi-crown-prince-bin-salman-hikes-committed-us-investment-nearly-1t |
| 2025-11-19 | HUMAIN | Luma AI | 0.9 | HUMAIN led $900m Series C at $4bn valuation; Luma to use Project Halo (2 GW). | https://www.advanced-television.com/2025/11/20/luma-ai-raises-900m-in-series-c-funding/ |
| 2026-01-21 | National Infrastructure Fund (Infra) | HUMAIN | 1.2 | Non-binding financing framework for about 250 MW of AI data-centre capacity. | https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630217/business-economy |
| 2026-01 | SDAIA | Hexagon government data centre | 2.7 | 480 MW Tier IV government data centre in Riyadh; cost estimated at about $2.7bn by Gulf News (SDAIA has not disclosed a cost). | https://w.media/sdaia-lays-foundation-stone-for-480mw-hexagon-government-data-center-in-riyadh/ |
| 2026-09-01 | Al Moammar Information Systems | Saudi Arabia | 1.2 | Data-centre expansion to 192 MW total capacity (LEAP 2026). | https://www.mcit.gov.sa/en/node/256522 |
| 2026-09-01 | NHC Innovation | Khuzam Digital Valley | 0.88 | SAR 3.3bn data-centre project targeting 65 MW by 2033; NAVER Innovation and BytePlus anchor customers. | https://english.aawsat.com/node/5316320 |
| 2026-09-01 | Vision Invest and Africa Finance Corporation | WIOCC | 0.3 | Investment in African digital infrastructure announced at LEAP 2026. | https://www.mcit.gov.sa/en/node/256522 |
| 2026-09-01 | Mobily | BytePlus | 0.15 | More than $150m for a cloud region (another report cites $120-150m). | https://www.mcit.gov.sa/en/node/256522 |
| 2026-09-09 | HUMAIN | External investors (reported) | 2.5 | REPORTED: Bloomberg (via Fortune, 9 Sept 2026) says HUMAIN plans a $2.5bn fund for data-centre expansion; CEO Tareq Amin has also said he aims to list in Saudi Arabia and New York by 2029. | https://fortune.com/2026/09/09/saudis-humain-turns-to-outside-investment-as-the-kingdom-reins-in-fiscal-spending/ |

## Data center & cloud sites

| Company | City | MW | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Cloud Jeddah region (Oracle) | Jeddah | — | Operational | https://www.cio.com/article/3519069/oracle-opens-cloud-region-in-jeddah-with-more-gulf-sites-to-come.html |
| Google Cloud Dammam region (me-central2) (Google Cloud) | Dammam | — | Operational | https://www.googlecloudpresscorner.com/2023-11-15-Google-Cloud-Expands-Regional-Presence-with-Opening-of-Dammam-Cloud-Region-Forecast-to-Boost-Economy-by-USD-109-Billion-by-2030 |
| Oracle Cloud Riyadh region (Oracle) | Riyadh | — | Operational | https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-strengthens-saudi-arabias-ai-economy-with-opening-of-second-public-cloud-region-2024-08-06 |
| Groq-Aramco Digital inference cluster (19,000 LPUs) (Groq / Aramco Digital) | Dammam | — | Operational | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/groq-emea-largest-ai-compute-centre |
| AMD Instinct MI355X cluster (AMD-Cisco-HUMAIN) (HUMAIN / AMD / Cisco) | Site not disclosed | — | Operational | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/biggest-ex-us-amd-inference-cluster |
| HUMAIN AI Cloud (Nvidia Blackwell Ultra) (HUMAIN) | Site not disclosed | 1.1 | Operational | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/humain-launches-nvidia-ai-cloud |
| HUMAIN Riyadh data centre (initial target 100 MW) (HUMAIN) | Riyadh | 100 | Under construction | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-25/saudi-s-humain-to-open-data-centers-with-us-chips-in-early-2026 |
| HUMAIN Dammam data centre (initial target 100 MW) (HUMAIN) | Dammam | 100 | Under construction | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-25/saudi-s-humain-to-open-data-centers-with-us-chips-in-early-2026 |
| Hexagon government data centre (SDAIA) | Riyadh | 480 | Under construction | https://techafricanews.com/2026/01/05/saudi-arabia-advances-vision-2030-with-groundbreaking-sdaia-data-center-project/ |
| AWS Saudi Arabia region (AWS) | Site not disclosed | — | Under construction | https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-cloud-region-saudi-arabia |
| Microsoft Saudi Arabia East region (Microsoft) | Eastern Province | — | Under construction | https://meatechwatch.com/2026/02/11/microsoft-confirms-saudi-arabia-datacenter-region-to-go-live-in-q4-2026/ |
| AWS-HUMAIN AI Zone (AWS / HUMAIN) | Site not disclosed | 50 | Announced | https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-cloud-region-saudi-arabia |
| DataVolt Oxagon AI campus (NEOM) - first phase with HUMAIN (DataVolt / HUMAIN) | NEOM | 100 | Under construction | https://w.media/datavolt-and-humain-break-ground-on-first-ai-data-center-in-neom/ |
| DataVolt Oxagon AI campus (NEOM) - full campus plan (DataVolt) | NEOM | 1500 | Announced | https://meconstructionnews.com/62668/neom-signs-deal-with-datavolt-to-build-5bn-data-centre-in-oxagon |
| HUMAIN-stc center3 AI data-centre JV (HUMAIN / stc center3) | Site not disclosed | 250 | Announced | https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/1866924 |
| Together AI-HUMAIN data centre (Together AI / HUMAIN) | Site not disclosed | 250 | Announced | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/together-ai-humain-data-centre |
| HUMAIN-AirTrunk campus (HUMAIN / AirTrunk) | Site not disclosed | — | Announced | https://enterpriseam.com/ksa/2025/10/29/humain-steals-the-show-at-fii9-with-usd-3-bn-center-push-aramco-backing-and-product-launches/ |
| Qualcomm AI200/AI250 racks (HUMAIN) (HUMAIN / Qualcomm) | Site not disclosed | 200 | Announced | https://meatechwatch.com/2025/10/29/humain-and-qualcomm-partner-to-build-worlds-first-edge-to-cloud-hybrid-ai-infrastructure-in-saudi-arabia/ |
| xAI-HUMAIN data centre (xAI / HUMAIN / Nvidia) | Site not disclosed | 500 | Announced | https://w.media/elon-musks-xai-to-build-500-mw-data-center-in-saudi-arabia/ |
| HUMAIN Project Halo AI supercluster (HUMAIN) | Site not disclosed | 2000 | Announced | https://www.advanced-television.com/2025/11/20/luma-ai-raises-900m-in-series-c-funding/ |
| AMD-Cisco-HUMAIN JV next phase (from 2027) (HUMAIN / AMD / Cisco) | Site not disclosed | 250 | Announced | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/biggest-ex-us-amd-inference-cluster |
| Al Moammar Information Systems data-centre expansion (Al Moammar Information Systems) | Site not disclosed | 192 | Announced | https://www.mcit.gov.sa/en/node/256522 |
| Khuzam Digital Valley (NHC Innovation) | Riyadh | 65 | Announced | https://english.aawsat.com/node/5316320 |
| KKR-Gulf Data Hub data centre (KKR / Gulf Data Hub) | Site not disclosed | 300 | Announced | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| Tencent Cloud Saudi region (Tencent Cloud) | Site not disclosed | — | Announced | https://gulfbusiness.com/2025/tech/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/ |
| BytePlus-Mobily cloud region (Mobily / BytePlus) | Site not disclosed | — | Announced | https://www.mcit.gov.sa/en/node/256522 |

## Startup funding rounds

| Date | Company | Round | USD m | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-02-04 | Mozn | Series A | 10 | https://www.wamda.com/2022/02/saudi-ai-startup-mozn-raises-10-million-series-funding |
| 2022-04-20 | Foodics | Series C | 170 | https://www.wamda.com/2022/04/foodics-raises-170-million-series-c-round-expansion |
| 2022-08-22 | Tamara | Series B | 100 | https://www.wamda.com/2022/08/tamara-raises-100-million-series-b-round |
| 2023-12-18 | Tamara | Series C | 340 | https://fintech.global/2023/12/18/340m-series-c-funding-elevates-tamara-to-unicorn-status/ |
| 2024-03-04 | Salla | Pre-IPO equity round | 130 | https://lw.com/en/news/latham-advises-salla-on-its-pre-ipo-equity-financing |
| 2024-07-30 | Intelmatix | Series A | 20 | https://www.wamda.com/2024/07/saudi-deeptech-intelmatix-scores-20-million-series-a |
| 2024-11-13 | Lean Technologies | Series B | 67.5 | https://www.wamda.com/2024/11/lean-closes-series-b-67-5-million-bringing-total-funding-100-million |
| 2025-07-15 | Lucidya | Series B | 30 | https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/lucidya-biggest-saudi-ai-funding |
| 2025-11-19 | Luma AI (US company; HUMAIN-led, not a Saudi startup) | Series C | 900 | https://www.advanced-television.com/2025/11/20/luma-ai-raises-900m-in-series-c-funding/ |
| 2026-05-16 | Stitch | Series A | 25 | https://www.arabnews.com/node/2643776/amp |
| 2026-05-16 | Aumet | Series A | 12 | https://www.arabnews.com/node/2643776/amp |

## Regulation timeline

- 2016-04-25: Saudi Vision 2030 announced (https://www.arabnews.com/node/1661491)
- 2019-08-30: Royal decree creates SDAIA with NDMO and NCAI; NIC transferred (https://regulations.ai/regulations/saudi-arabia-2019-08-sdaia-establishment)
- 2020-10-21: National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI) launched (https://gulfbusiness.com/en/2020/uncategorized/saudi-arabia-lays-out-ambitious-national-ai-strategy)
- 2021-09-16: Personal Data Protection Law issued (Royal Decree M/19); gazetted 24 Sep 2021 (https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2021/09/saudi-arabia-issues-personal-data-protection-law)
- 2023-03-27: PDPL amended by Royal Decree M/148 (https://insightplus.bakermckenzie.com/bm/data-technology/saudi-arabia-new-amendments-have-been-introduced-to-the-personal-data-protection-law)
- 2023-07-25: Cabinet approves ICAIRE (international AI research and ethics centre) (https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/release/202409116203)
- 2023-09-07: PDPL Implementing Regulations and Data Transfer Regulations published (https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2023/09/saudi-arabia-issues-implementing-regulations)
- 2023-09-14: PDPL in force; 12-month grace period to 14 Sep 2024 (https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2023/09/saudi-arabia-issues-implementing-regulations)
- 2023-09-14: AI Ethics Principles v2.0 published (https://www.tamimi.com/news/ai-ethics-principles-version-2-0)
- 2024-01-10: Generative AI Guidelines for government (public version 11 Jan) (https://digitalpolicyalert.org/event/17277-published-sdaia-generative-artificial-intelligence-guidelines-for-optimal-adoption-in-government-entities)
- 2024-09-11: ICAIRE classified as UNESCO Category 2 centre (https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/release/202409116203)
- 2024-09-12: National AI Adoption Framework published (https://digitalpolicyalert.org/event/24158-adopted-national-framework-for-ai-adoption)
- 2025-04-14: Draft Global AI Hub Law (data embassies) opened for consultation to 14 May 2025; final status not found (https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2025/05/ksa-release-draft-global-ai-hub-law)
- 2025-06: National Data Center Strategy: up to 1.5 GW by 2030 (https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/saudi-arabia-ict-new-data-center-strategy-accelerate-ai-and-cloud-expansion)
- 2025-11-18: US-Saudi strategic AI memorandum announced (https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2025/11/us-and-saudi-arabia-commit-new-ai-agreement/409626/)
- 2025-11-19: US Commerce approves the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips each for HUMAIN and G42 (https://news.bgov.com/artificial-intelligence/nvidia-chip-sales-to-g42-humain-approved-by-commerce-department)
- 2026-02-22: Saudi Arabia joins GPAI as first Arab member (https://www.sharikatmubasher.com/media-hub/news/21535416/Saudi-Arabia-becomes-first-Arab-country-to-join-GPAI?lang=ar)
- 2026-03-10: Cabinet designates 2026 the Year of Artificial Intelligence (https://www.middleeastainews.com/p/saudi-designates-2026-as-year-of)
- 2026-04-03: Draft Responsible AI Policy opened for consultation to 3 May 2026 (four risk tiers) (https://digitalpolicyalert.org/change/19003-responsible-ai-policy)

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