- Saudi AI startup Humain is leveraging the Kingdom’s "utterly remarkable" energy abundance
- Humain can cut AI Infrastructure total cost of ownership by 20–30%, CEO Tariq Amin said
- Humain is also developing a greenfield software stack for AI
In an industry facing tight energy constraints, access to relatively inexpensive and abundant power is a strategic advantage for Saudi Arabian AI startup Humain.
"The unique value proposition that Saudi has to the world is power and energy. There is an abundance in the country that is just utterly remarkable," Humain CEO Tariq Amin said during Cisco's virtual AI Summit this week. While much of that energy is from "traditional" sources, 20% is renewable, he added.
Power availability is greater than 15 gigawatts at "the right price," reducing total cost of ownership by 20-30%, said Amin, who previously launched Rakuten Symphony and held a top leadership position at Reliance Jio.
Partners are taking notice. Humain, which launched in August, teamed with Amazon Web Services (AWS) on building the hyperscaler's first AI factory outside the U.S., Amin said. AWS plans to invest $5.3 billion to develop a new AWS region in Saudi.
Additionally, Humain, AMD and Cisco launched a joint venture in November to deliver up to 1 GW of AI infrastructure by 2030, starting with a 100 MW deployment.
Humain is focused on the "total AI value chain" — data center, compute, diversified chips, models, applications and an AI solutions advisory business, Amin said. He noted it built a greenfield software stack and plans to launch two flagship products this year.
One is the world's first agentic operating system, built on a customized Linux, where intent replaces applications for business functions like payroll performance management, procurement and finance. "Today, inside Humain, none of our employees see an app at all," Amin said.
The other product, Humain OS, will launch in April. Additionally, Humain is developing a multi-agent orchestration platform.
Saudi Arabia's AI ambitions
AI is a cornerstone of Vision 2030, a Saudi government initiative aimed at developing a digital-first society. State-backed companies such as the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI) and Humain are playing a crucial role in advancing the country’s position in the global AI landscape. Humain is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
But global partnerships are also a major element of Saudi strategy. In addition to AMD, AWS and Cisco, Oracle plans a $14 billon investment in Saudi AI and cloud infrastructure over the next 10 years.
The Middle East cloud and AI hub
Saudi Arabia's moves are part of a broader effort to position the Middle East as a cloud and AI hub. As part of the Saudi technology initiative, Google Cloud and Accenture signed a deal a year ago to speed adoption of sovereign cloud and generative AI. At about the same time, stc Group teamed with a company called SambaNova to build a sovereign cloud specifically for AI in Saudi Arabia. And in March, Microsoft partnered with Core42 to build a sovereign cloud for the government of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Amin lavished praise on the Saudi government, which he said provides "enablement," not just regulation. For example, Amin said he asked His Royal Highness, the Ministry of Energy to identify power substations on government land. In less than six weeks, 16 government entities came together and identified 211 pieces of land, with more than 14 gigawatts of capacity to tap into.
"This is public-private partnership at its best," Amin said. "A very large reason for the success we had and the acceleration we had is how private-public entities are working together to support a larger national objective," Amin said.
Additionally, Humain and Saudi Arabia's National Infrastructure Fund (Infra) recently announced a financing agreement for $1.2 billion to build 250 MW of data center capacity in the Kingdom.
Amin left Rakuten Symphony to take the role of CEO of Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of Aramco, a Saudi state-owned oil company. He joined Humain as CEO in December 2024.
Aramco Digital launched the Aramco Digital National Industrial Network across the Kingdom on Monday. Operating on the 450 MHz spectrum the network will provide mission-critical infrastructure to meet the demanding requirements of modern industrial environments.