Saudi Aramco completed its acquisition of 49% of AI company Humain in a transaction involving approximately SR9.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in cash contributions during 2026, while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) retains 51%, Arab News reported on 1 November from Riyadh, citing a joint statement issued that day. Aramco holds its stake through a wholly owned subsidiary and is also contributing AI, computing and digital assets to Humain.
Key points
- The completed deal gives Aramco 49% of Humain and leaves PIF with 51%.
- The transaction involves approximately SR9.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in cash contributions during 2026, alongside Aramco’s AI, computing and digital assets.
- Humain is targeting 3 gigawatts of AI data centre capacity by 2030.
- A proposed arrangement with Nebius covers up to 50 megawatts at a planned campus in Neom’s Oxagon.
Aramco and PIF close their Humain transaction
The closing follows a non-binding term sheet that Aramco and PIF signed on 28 October 2025. At that stage, the two organisations had outlined a plan to bring their AI assets, capabilities and talent together under Humain, with PIF keeping majority ownership. The completed transaction establishes Aramco as a minority shareholder alongside the sovereign wealth fund.
Humain was launched in May 2025. Its work spans data centres, high-performance computing and cloud platforms, advanced models, and AI products for business and government customers. One of the models under development is ALLaM, a multimodal Arabic large language model. The shareholders are putting Aramco’s existing technology assets into a company that is also building infrastructure to serve other customers.
Aramco expects to use Humain’s infrastructure to extend AI deployment across its industrial operations. The company and its affiliates are also expected to use Humain’s services as a shareholder and strategic partner. The joint statement described potential revenue growth, margins and monetisation of Aramco’s existing digital assets as anticipated benefits of the partnership.
Nasser cites $11.3bn in technology value
Amin Nasser, Aramco’s president and CEO, said the company had achieved $11.3 billion in Technology Realized Value since 2023, with a significant portion coming from AI solutions. His figure describes value attributed to technology across Aramco over that period. The transaction places some of the company’s AI, computing and digital assets inside Humain, alongside its new equity interest.
Yazeed Al-Humied, PIF’s deputy governor and head of Middle East and North Africa investments, said combining the shareholders’ AI investment portfolios under Humain would support talent development, technology and intellectual property. He said the deal would expand AI’s role across PIF’s six economic ecosystems and encourage more private-sector participation.
For Humain, the capital and assets accompany a substantial build-out target. The company plans to deploy 3 gigawatts of AI data centre capacity by 2030, as it expands computing infrastructure and develops models and industry applications. That target is a planned capacity figure, separate from the smaller customer arrangements it has announced for individual sites.
Nebius proposal covers 50MW at Oxagon
On 21 October, Humain and DataVolt announced a preliminary framework agreement with AI cloud company Nebius for capacity at their planned campus in Neom’s Oxagon. Under the proposed arrangement, Nebius would take up to 50 megawatts, or half of the initial 100 MW under construction within a planned first phase of 360 MW. AI Affairs previously covered the preliminary Nebius agreement at Oxagon.
Humain has also expanded its partnership with Nvidia, with plans for up to 84MW of AI computing capacity, AI Affairs reported. The Nebius arrangement concerns a proposed allocation at Oxagon, while the Nvidia plan concerns AI capacity under a separate partnership. Both sit alongside Humain’s broader 2030 data centre target.
Humain and DataVolt expect the proposed Nebius allocation to become operational in phases from the fourth quarter of 2027, Arab News reported.
