Humain plans a 1.7 GW Saudi datacenter build next year

Humain is about to put its Saudi data-center ambitions into overdrive. The PIF-backed AI company plans to bring 250 MW online by the end of this year before scaling up to 1.7 GW in 2027, CEO Tareq Amin says.

AND THAT WON’T COME CHEAP: Amin puts the typical cost of building AI datacenter capacity at USD 10 mn to USD 12 mn per MW. On that benchmark, next year’s planned build could cost around USD 14.5 bn, although Amin did not give a specific cost figure. “Almost 80% of my capital is going to the data centers,” Amin tells EnterpriseAM in an interview.

THE BUILD GETS BIGGER FROM HERE: Humain is targeting roughly 3 GW by 2030 and 6 GW by 2034, turning what is now a relatively small Saudi data-center market into the base for a much larger AI-compute business.

The basic growth plan is to attract global companies to run workloads in the Kingdom, creating digital products that they sell far away from its shores.

BUT: That plan could face hurdles, especially if there’s a flare-up in the Iran war that spooks global tech firms or if the global appetite for AI computing wanes even a little bit.

HOW’S IT PAYING FOR ALL THAT? Humain’s domestic data-center fund is going through the regulatory process for final approval, Amin told us. The vehicle is reportedly seeking an initial USD 2.5 bn to finance its first phase of capacity, with scope to scale further.

Infrastructure partners include Elon Musk's xAI, Amazon Web Services, and AMD, alongside several open-weight AI model companies, Amin explains.

THE FUNDS: Humain is also planning a separate compute-infrastructure fund to finance the GPUs and other IT equipment housed inside its data centers. “The IT equipment, including the GPU, is where most of the capital is,” he notes, though he didn’t provide a USD figure.

AND- Humain is separately preparing two venture vehicles. Its previously announced global AI fund, originally planned at USD 10 bn, will target international AI-native companies. A second vehicle, Humain Limitless, will focus on Saudi AI companies and is set to launch at the Future Investment Initiative forum later this month, Amin told EnterpriseAM.