Saudi Arabia’s ambitious AI push took a major leap forward on Tuesday, as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that the U.S. chipmaker will supply more than 18,000 units of its state-of-the-art Blackwell GB300 AI processors to HUMAIN, the Kingdom’s newly launched AI company under the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The announcement was made at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, a high-profile gathering that coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s official Gulf tour, which includes stops in Qatar and the UAE.
The strategic partnership underscores Saudi Arabia’s intent to become a global AI powerhouse and deepens technology ties between Washington and Riyadh.
AI Supercomputing at Unprecedented Scale
The chips will power a 500-megawatt AI data center being constructed in the Kingdom, marking one of the most powerful AI infrastructure projects in the world outside the U.S.
The facility is expected to serve as the computational backbone for HUMAIN’s long-term mission: building sovereign AI capabilities, developing Arabic large language models (LLMs), and serving enterprise and public sector clients in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
The Blackwell GB300, Nvidia’s most powerful AI accelerator yet, was unveiled earlier this year and is designed specifically for large-scale generative AI workloads, including training and inference of multi-trillion parameter models.
At the forum, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised Saudi Arabia’s foresight and ambition: “I’m very pleased to be here to celebrate the grand opening and the launch of HUMAIN.
“It is truly an amazing vision for Saudi Arabia to build AI infrastructure in your country, so you can participate and help shape the future of this transformative technology.”
He added: “Saudi Arabia is rich in energy, and you are transforming that energy into AI supercomputers powered by Nvidia, essentially factories of intelligence.”
HUMAIN: PIF’s Flagship AI Initiative
Backed by the $700 billion PIF, HUMAIN was established to lead the Kingdom’s AI ecosystem across the entire value chain, from hardware and data infrastructure to Arabic-language LLMs and industry-specific solutions.
The company aims to support national digital sovereignty while exporting AI services globally.
Its roadmap includes:
- Building hyperscale AI data centers across multiple regions
- Acquiring and deploying hundreds of thousands of GPUs over the next decade
- Attracting global AI talent and fostering local IP creation
- Supporting sectors such as energy, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing
While HUMAIN’s ties to earlier PIF AI initiatives like SCAI and Alat remain distinct, its formation complements a broader national push to embed AI into every layer of Saudi economic and industrial strategy.
A Tailwind for Nvidia Amid Shifting U.S. Policy
The announcement sent Nvidia shares surging more than 5% in Tuesday trading. The timing comes just days after the U.S. Department of Commerce said it would revise chip export policies introduced during the Biden administration.
The upcoming “simplified” rules may make it easier for companies like Nvidia to serve strategic partners in allied nations, including Saudi Arabia.
For Nvidia, the HUMAIN deal signals growing demand for its next-gen AI chips outside traditional markets and cements the company’s central role in the AI arms race sweeping across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions are no longer speculative, they are being operationalized at global scale.
With the HUMAIN deal, the Kingdom is building a national AI brain, powered by Nvidia, with aspirations to reshape both regional and global technological landscapes.
