Amazon Web Services (AWS) and HUMAIN, Saudi Arabia’s newly established AI-focused company, have announced a strategic partnership to invest over $5 billion in the creation of an innovative AI Zone within the Kingdom. This collaboration aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s role as a global leader in artificial intelligence by providing cutting-edge AI infrastructure and services.
The AI Zone will incorporate AWS’s advanced AI capabilities, including AI infrastructure, semiconductors, UltraCluster networks for faster AI training and inference, and AWS’s services such as SageMaker and Bedrock. These technologies will help accelerate the Kingdom’s AI mission and contribute to its Vision 2030 goals.
AWS had previously revealed plans to establish a new AWS region in Saudi Arabia by 2026, representing a $5.3 billion investment in the country’s digital future. The newly announced AI Zone is a significant addition to this commitment, helping to meet the increasing demand for AI services both locally and globally.
This partnership reflects Saudi Arabia’s 2024 pledge to develop an AI-powered economy, driving the Kingdom’s aspirations to lead in AI innovation. AWS will bring its advanced server and network infrastructure, along with AI and machine learning services like Amazon SageMaker AI, Amazon Bedrock, and Amazon Q, which will be pivotal in accelerating generative AI (genAI) development and adoption.
Through this collaboration, HUMAIN plans to use AWS technologies to develop AI solutions for its clients and collaborate on building a unified AI agent marketplace. This initiative also aims to promote the development of Large Language Models (LLMs), including Arabic Large Language Models (ALLaM), and enhance AI adoption in organizations and industries throughout the Gulf Region and beyond.
Key sectors such as government, energy, healthcare, and education will benefit from AI-powered tools that can personalize learning, assist with early disease diagnosis, and increase productivity across various administrative processes. This growth will be supported by the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, in partnership with HUMAIN, which will empower both startups and enterprises to scale AI-driven solutions.
In addition to supporting AI innovation, AWS and HUMAIN are working together to foster a thriving AI-powered startup ecosystem in Saudi Arabia. AWS’s vast cloud technology tools, including AWS Activate, will provide critical support to the Kingdom’s most ambitious founders, helping them scale their businesses.
As part of this collaboration, AWS is also committing to training 100,000 citizens in cloud computing and genAI skills, in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. This training will be delivered through the Amazon Academy, the region’s largest talent development program, which has already started offering cloud computing certifications to empower Saudi youth and professionals for the future.
AWS’s investments also extend to empowering women, with initiatives such as the AWS Saudi Arabia Women’s Skills Initiative, aimed at training 10,000 women in AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials.
With this strategic partnership, Saudi Arabia is set to lead the Middle East in AI, with forecasts estimating that AI will contribute $130 billion to the Kingdom’s economy by 2030, representing more than 40% of the region’s total AI economic impact.
Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN, highlighted that the collaboration with AWS is a pivotal moment in Saudi Arabia’s journey to becoming a global AI leader. By leveraging AWS’s infrastructure and HUMAIN’s AI capabilities, this partnership will drive the Kingdom’s digital transformation and attract global investment and talent.
