Imagine a colossal $5 billion data center springing up in Saudi Arabia’s northwest, poised to supply the computing power needed for artificial intelligence development across Europe. Simultaneously, on the kingdom’s eastern shore, another multi-billion-dollar complex is being planned, ready to serve A.I. innovators throughout Asia and Africa.
For decades, Saudi Arabia’s global identity revolved around oil exports. Today, the nation is pivoting, setting its sights on a new, highly sought-after commodity of the digital age: advanced computing power.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is strategically leveraging Saudi Arabia’s vast oil wealth to forge a new era of technological influence. The kingdom possesses a unique combination of cheap energy, substantial financial reserves, and ample open land – all critical components for establishing the enormous, energy-intensive data centers essential for modern A.I. operations.
The kingdom is actively engaged in discussions with major American tech corporations to utilize these upcoming data centers and strengthen existing partnerships. High-profile executives from companies like OpenAI, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, and Oracle are slated to attend Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment Initiative conference, colloquially known as ‘Davos in the Desert,’ starting this Monday. Prince Mohammed himself is set to visit the United States next month, likely to further these tech ambitions.
Among the significant agreements being explored is a partnership to supply computing resources to Elon Musk’s xAI, revealed Saeed Al-Dobas, a top executive at Humain, a newly formed state-backed entity spearheading numerous A.I. initiatives.
“Amazon was here yesterday. Microsoft this morning,” Al-Dobas stated in a recent interview, hinting that discussions with Mr. Musk involved an even more expansive and ambitious undertaking.
Established by Prince Mohammed in May, Humain aims to process approximately 6 percent of the global A.I. workload in the years ahead. This ambitious target would catapult Saudi Arabia, currently responsible for less than 1 percent, from a minor participant to a significant global player, second only to the United States and China in computing power provision, as reported by Synergy Research Group, a leading data center industry analyst.
Three massive data center complexes are currently under construction, specifically designed to attract international businesses. Saudi executives suggest that these facilities could slash A.I. operational costs by at least 30 percent compared to the United States. With expedited construction permits and strategic undersea and fiber-optic cable placements, these hubs will be within reach of approximately four billion people across three continents.
To address potential security apprehensions in the authoritarian nation, Saudi Arabia is exploring the concept of ‘data embassy’ zones. These innovative zones would permit foreign companies to operate under their own national legal frameworks, rather than being subject to Saudi law, providing a unique concession for global tech partners.
Amazon has publicly committed to collaborating with Humain to ‘accelerate Saudi Arabia’s vision to become a global A.I. leader.’ While Microsoft refrained from commenting, xAI did not respond to inquiries.
However, many remain skeptical of Saudi Arabia’s ability to achieve these ambitious goals. The kingdom currently faces a limited talent pool in A.I. expertise. Furthermore, some analysts caution against a potential worldwide oversupply of computing capacity, as nations and corporations rapidly construct data centers possibly outstripping profitable demand.
John Dinsdale, a senior analyst at Synergy, expressed strong doubts: “While one can never completely rule it out, I struggle to envision any scenario that would allow Saudi Arabia to attain 6 percent of the world’s A.I. compute capacity.”
Historically, as a major oil exporter, Saudi Arabia prospered from its collaborations with other energy-rich nations via the OPEC Plus cartel. Yet, the A.I. landscape lacks such established cooperative structures. The kingdom is also currently lagging behind regional rivals like the United Arab Emirates, which recently unveiled a multi-billion dollar A.I. project with OpenAI in Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia’s aggressive A.I. push also challenges U.S. foreign policy, which strategically uses control over advanced A.I. chip exports to influence nations away from Chinese technological partnerships. Although American companies, including Nvidia, received preliminary approval to sell A.I. chips to Saudi Arabia during President Trump’s May visit to Riyadh, Washington’s final clearance remains pending due to ongoing concerns about Saudi Arabia’s deepening relationship with Beijing.
President Trump met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh last May, a significant encounter amidst the kingdom’s burgeoning tech ambitions.
Prince Mohammed has artfully navigated the intensifying technological rivalry between the U.S. and China, refusing to align exclusively with either. The kingdom maintains strong ties with former President Trump, exemplified by a recent $55 billion partnership with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for Electronic Arts. Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia continues to embrace Chinese investment, with Chinese A.I. firm DeepSeek already utilizing data centers owned by Saudi state oil giant, Aramco.
The stakes here extend beyond merely diversifying Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy. Prince Mohammed envisions A.I. as a new conduit for the same global influence and leverage his kingdom has historically commanded through its vast oil reserves.
“It’s tempting to dismiss this as simply another instance of the Saudis chasing the latest technological trend with their wealth, but that perspective might significantly underestimate their true ambition,” commented Vivek Chilukuri, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “While they might not achieve every single objective, they are likely to surpass many critics’ expectations.”
The Crown Prince’s Urgent Push for A.I.
In a dramatic turn of events in August 2024, Tareq Amin, a high-ranking Aramco executive, received an urgent 2 a.m. phone call during a birthday celebration in Dubai. The message was clear: “You need to fly back to Riyadh immediately.”
The call came from an aide to Prince Mohammed, who, according to Mr. Amin, desired an immediate meeting with key business and government figures to solidify Saudi Arabia’s A.I. strategy. Amin promptly boarded a flight and headed directly to the royal court in Riyadh, illustrating the urgency of the matter.
This wasn’t Prince Mohammed’s initial foray into A.I. strategy. Back in 2019, he founded the Saudi Data & A.I. Authority, a government body tasked with creating tools such as an Arabic chatbot. Following this, in 2023, Aramco launched a dedicated digital unit to spearhead efforts in A.I. and other emerging technologies.
Following the pivotal 2024 meeting, Prince Mohammed unveiled Humain, envisioned as the A.I. counterpart to the kingdom’s oil giant, Aramco. Bolstered by Saudi Arabia’s approximate $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, Humain consolidated existing A.I. projects and charted new expansion territories. In May, the company announced plans to construct data centers, invest in promising start-ups, and cultivate a range of A.I. services. Prince Mohammed assumed the role of chairman, with Mr. Amin appointed as chief executive.
Pictured in Riyadh last May, Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, stands with Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, highlighting key partnerships in Saudi Arabia’s A.I. development.
“I recognized that we lagged in every aspect,” Amin admitted. “Our objective is to establish a national entity that comprehensively addresses the entire A.I. value chain.”
In the months since, Humain has rapidly forged ahead, securing agreements to procure semiconductors from industry leaders Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm. A landmark $5 billion deal was inked with Amazon for the development of A.I. infrastructure. The company also launched its own A.I. products, including a “helpful and harmless” Arabic chatbot designed to steer clear of sensitive political and cultural topics, an A.I.-powered laptop, and a smart meeting transcription tool.
Qualcomm views Saudi Arabia as a crucial “digital bridge between continents.” Nvidia affirmed that its agreements align with U.S. interests, while AMD stated that collaborating with Humain advances “U.S. leadership in the global A.I. race.”
Previously a significant barrier for some corporations, human rights concerns have largely receded. Saudi Arabia is banking on the irresistible appeal of its inexpensive electricity, a factor that would dramatically reduce the costs of A.I. development and deployment, making its offerings highly attractive to tech firms.
“If you can reduce the cost by 20 to 40 percent and present this to a global market, people will undoubtedly be drawn in,” Amin confidently stated.
To support this massive undertaking, the kingdom is aggressively expanding its electrical grid. Humain projects its facilities near Riyadh and Dammam, in the Eastern Province, will achieve a staggering 6.6 gigawatts of capacity by 2034 – an energy demand comparable to powering over six nuclear reactors. Meanwhile, DataVolt, a subsidiary of a Saudi industrial conglomerate, is constructing the Red Sea data center, with its phased rollout commencing in 2028.
This rendering provides a glimpse of the impressive DataVolt data center complex slated for the Saudi coast, part of the kingdom’s ambitious infrastructure development.
Rajit Nanda, DataVolt’s chief executive, articulates a clear vision: “Currently, the A.I. landscape has two major epicenters — the United States and China. There is certainly space for other nations to emerge as the third, and even fourth, global hubs.”
Navigating the U.S.-China Geopolitical A.I. Balancing Act
However, a significant obstacle threatens to derail Saudi Arabia’s ambitious plans: the availability of U.S.-manufactured A.I. semiconductors. These crucial components, which fuel data centers, are currently in high demand and notoriously difficult to acquire.
Securing these vital components hinges on gaining support from former President Trump. Earlier this year, in preparation for Mr. Trump’s visit to the Persian Gulf, Saudi officials engaged in high-level discussions in Washington to facilitate the procurement of A.I. chips.
During these meetings, U.S. officials voiced apprehension that Saudi Arabia was not adequately addressing their security concerns regarding potential threats posed by China, according to two individuals familiar with the negotiations.
Interestingly, Saudi officials reportedly questioned the necessity of adhering to U.S. export control regulations that would restrict the usage of these chips. They even suggested a segregated approach, proposing to house Chinese chips in distinct sections of data center complexes, separate from those utilizing U.S. manufacturers like Nvidia, sources close to the discussions revealed.
Despite a preliminary green light given to Humain during Mr. Trump’s May visit to Riyadh, authorizing the purchase of 18,000 A.I. chips from Nvidia (with more expected), and a separate allocation for DataVolt, final approval for these sales remains elusive five months later.
Saudi Arabia, like other Gulf nations, finds itself in a state of uncertainty. The UAE, for instance, seemed set to receive its A.I. chip allocation after revealing plans for a data center collaboration with OpenAI. This came after G42, the Emirati company involved, agreed last year to divest from Chinese tech firm Huawei in exchange for access to A.I. chips.
Neither the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy nor the Commerce Department provided comment on these developments.
Despite assurances from Humain and DataVolt that Chinese companies would be barred from their data centers, China-Saudi ties have notably strengthened since 2019, when Chinese firms assisted in upgrading Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications infrastructure. In February, DeepSeek, a Chinese A.I. company, formalized an agreement to use Aramco’s data centers. Furthermore, an investment firm partially owned by Aramco has invested in ZhipuAI, a significant Chinese A.I. enterprise.
Adding to the complexity, Chinese researchers affiliated with military-linked universities in China currently have access to a high-capacity A.I. computer located at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
Some U.S. officials advocate for a strategy where American technology competes directly with Chinese technology, unencumbered by security limitations. Should this approach prevail, Saudi Arabia could become a pioneering nation where significant American and Chinese A.I. infrastructures operate, and contend, in close proximity.
Just outside Riyadh this month, construction crews were busy leveling a plot of land designated for a new DataVolt data center. Trenches were being dug for essential networking cables and electrical infrastructure. Meanwhile, on the adjacent side of a security perimeter, Amazon was finalizing another one of its facilities, underscoring the rapid development.
“Everyone is investing,” confirmed Hani Rabi, a manager at the Saudi construction firm Comatec. “It’s truly booming.”
Vivian Nereim contributed reporting from Riyadh.