As expected, AI is taking center stage at the Future Investment Initiative forum (FII9) this year, as PIF’s AI champion Humain announced big-ticket partnerships, acquisition and IPO plans, product launches, and more.
A USD 3 bn data centers push with Blackstone: Humain inked a long-term partnership with Australia’s AirTrunk, backed by Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, to build and operate next-generation data centers in the Kingdom with an initial USD 3 bn investment, Blackstone said in a statement. Humain will lead the work on infrastructure and AI capabilities, while AirTrunk brings global expertise in data center development and operations, the statement said.
Just the beginning? The partnership may expand to include more players eventually, such as BlackRock, KKR, and DigitalBridge, CEO Tareq Amin told Bloomberg.
Humain is already talking IPO and lining up investors: Humain could go public via a dual listing on Tadawul and the US’s Nasdaq within the next three to four years, Amin said. The CEO also hinted at a potential investment from one of Humain’s AI chip suppliers — which include Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm and Groq.
.. and Aramco wants a piece: The PIF and Aramco signed a non-binding term sheet yesterday for the latter to acquire a significant minority stake in Humain. The acquisition’s aim is “to combine the two entities’ AI assets and expertise under Humain to accelerate its global growth,” a statement from Aramco said, without disclosing financial details.
ALSO- Humain launched its new operating system, Humain One, following the debut of its Horizon Pro AI PC last month, it said in a press release yesterday. The system automates key enterprise functions such as HR, finance, and procurement through a single language-based interface, powered by Humain’s Arabic-first AI model, Allam. Humain One is already being tested in several government institutions and three PIF companies, CEO Tareq Amin said during the conference.
The OS introduces a suite of productivity tools, including Humain Secretariat for managing meetings and tasks, Humain Search for quick research, and Humain Code, a no-code tool that allows teams to build custom AI agents using natural language. It also features Humain Connect, a video platform with live meeting summaries launching in 4Q 2025, while Humain Workhub, an integrated office suite for collaboration, is set to follow in 1Q 2026.
To expand the Humain One ecosystem, the company is partnering with EY to adapt enterprise tools into AI agents, with Groq to power its infrastructure in Dammam, and Replit to train Saudi developers. Humain is also preparing to launch the Humain Marketplace, where developers and enterprises can build and share AI agents to extend the system’s capabilities.
Building on success: AI-powered chatbot Humain Chat reached 300k active users in the Kingdom since its launch this year, and will expand into five new markets before the end of the year, Amin said.