Nvidia and Humain: Building 500MW AI Data Centres
As competition for AI infrastructure increases, Gulf nations are making investments to establish themselves in the technology market.
Saudi Arabia, in particular, has signalled its intentions to diversify beyond petroleum through technology initiatives under its Vision 2030 programme.
The latest development in this strategy comes as Humain, the AI subsidiary established by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, forms a partnership with Nvidia, to develop large-scale AI computing infrastructure within the Kingdom.
This collaboration is part of the Middle East's push to build sovereign AI capabilities at a time when countries worldwide are racing to secure computing resources.
Simultaneously, the global shortage of advanced AI chips has created a competitive environment where nations with access to substantial computing power gain advantages in both economic development and technological sovereignty.
Now, Saudi Arabia's move follows similar investments from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, though at a scale that suggests the Kingdom intends to establish itself as the region's dominant AI hub.
Nvidia GB300 technology driving computing capacity expansion
The partnership aims to position Saudi Arabia as a global centre for AI development through investment in hardware, software platforms and workforce development programmes.
It also shows the growing recognition that AI infrastructure has become a critical national asset, similar to traditional utilities and transportation networks.
The Saudi organisation has committed to constructing AI computing facilities with a planned capacity of up to 500 megawatts, powered by several hundred thousand Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) a five-year timeframe.
The first phase will deploy an 18,000-unit Nvidia GB300 Grace Blackwell AI supercomputer using Nvidia InfiniBand networking technology.
InfiniBand is a communications standard used in high-performance computing that provides high throughput and low latency connections between systems.
These facilities will provide infrastructure for training and deploying sovereign AI models, which are AI systems developed and controlled within national boundaries.
“AI, like electricity and internet, is essential infrastructure for every nation,” says Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia.
“Together with Humain, we are building AI infrastructure for the people and companies of Saudi Arabia to realise the bold vision of the Kingdom.”
Targeting physical AI applications across industries
The partnership includes deployment of the Nvidia Omniverse platform as a multi-tenant system.
Omniverse is a platform that allows different 3D design tools to work together through a shared virtual space.
This technology will support what the companies refer to as ‘physical AI’ applications, which combine AI with robotics and simulation capabilities to create digital twins of physical environments.
The implementation aims to enhance operations in sectors including manufacturing, logistics and energy through simulation and optimisation of physical environments.
“This collaboration with Humain marks a turning point, building the AI factories of the future, unlocking compute and powering the next era of physical AI,” says Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
“This lays the groundwork for a new industrial revolution, anchored in advanced infrastructure, talent and global ambition. This is how Saudi Arabia continues to lead as a partner of choice in shaping the future of AI.”
“Our partnership with Nvidia is a bold step forward in realising the Kingdom's ambitions to lead in AI and advanced digital infrastructure,” says Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain.
“Together, we are building the capacity, capability and a new globally enabled community to shape a future powered by intelligent technology and empowered people.”
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