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Humain, really? Saudi's new AI venture faces same old problems

The Observer

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May 18, 2025

The promise of an AI-powered future may be good marketing, but the business fundamentals are not straightforward.

- Patricia Clarke

Humain, really? Saudi's new AI venture faces same old problems

That has not stopped Saudi Arabia from trying. On Monday, it launched Humain, a multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence company, in pursuit of becoming a global leader in the sector. The initiative will partner with a suite of US firms, with deals rubber-stamped by Donald Trump.

Humain will invest in and operate AI assets, including datacentres, AI infrastructure and an Arabic large language model. It is backed by the $940bn Public Investment Fund. A series of deals have been announced to prop up the initiative, including on chips, infrastructure and economic zones. Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Amazon, Cisco and Google have all signed up to various ventures.

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