Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Humain, Saudi Arabia's state-backed AI company, have unveiled plans for a landmark $5 billion-plus investment to establish a comprehensive 'AI Zone' in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant advancement in the Kingdom's technological ambitions.
The partnership, announced on May 13, 2025, will create a first-of-its-kind AI infrastructure hub featuring AWS's advanced AI technologies, including UltraCluster networks for faster AI training and inference, specialized servers with world-class semiconductors, and AI services such as Amazon SageMaker, Bedrock, and the Amazon Q generative AI assistant.
Humain, launched earlier this week by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and backed by Saudi Arabia's $940 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), will utilize AWS technologies to develop AI solutions for government and enterprise customers. The collaboration will also focus on creating a unified AI agent marketplace to streamline the discovery, deployment, and management of AI software for Saudi government services.
"HUMAIN's partnership with AWS is a pivotal moment in Saudi Arabia's journey to become a global leader in AI," said Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN. The initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals of economic diversification and digital transformation.
The investment comes at a strategic time for the region's AI development. According to PwC, Saudi Arabia is forecast to hold the lion's share of AI's economic impact across the Middle East, with AI expected to contribute $130 billion to Saudi's economy by 2030—comprising more than 40 percent of the estimated $320 billion of AI value for the entire Middle East.
As part of the agreement, AWS has committed to training 100,000 Saudi citizens in cloud computing and generative AI through the Amazon Academy, the largest talent development program of its kind in the Middle East. This includes a dedicated initiative to provide free AWS certification to 10,000 Saudi women, supporting the Kingdom's goal of increasing female workforce participation.
The AI Zone represents an additional investment beyond AWS's previously announced $5.3 billion commitment to establish a cloud infrastructure region in Saudi Arabia by 2026, highlighting the growing competition among major cloud providers to establish AI dominance in emerging markets.