Saudi Aramco takes 49 percent stake in AI firm Humain with $2.6 billion deal

Saudi Aramco is buying into Humain, the company meant to turn Saudi Arabia into a global AI hub. According to Aramco, the oil giant is taking a 49 percent stake and contributing about $2.6 billion in 2026 along with its own AI technology. Humain was founded in May 2025 by the sovereign wealth fund PIF and builds data centers, develops cloud services, and trains AI models like the Arabic language model ALLaM.

Humain plans to build three gigawatts of data center capacity by 2030. The company wants to serve demand both domestically and abroad and become a leading AI exporter. Business is already picking up. In late August, AMD reported that infrastructure built jointly with Cisco and Humain is now serving customers inside and outside Saudi Arabia. Aramco plans to use the technology in its own operations and generate additional revenue by selling its own AI solutions. Through its investment arm Wa'ed Ventures, the company also holds a stake in Korean AI chip developer Rebellions.

The Iran war is affecting the buildout. Humain is beefing up protection for its data centers, CEO Tareq Amin told Semafor in September. Saudi Arabia is drawing on Aramco's experience securing oil infrastructure as a model. Despite the war, Humain hasn't seen any drop in demand.

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