The US-Saudi Investment Forum held in Washington saw USD 267 bn in new agreements signed on Wednesday, according to a statement. The agreements add to USD 307 bn signed during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May and finalized during the forum yesterday.

President Trump spoke at the summit attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hailing US-Saudi ties and investment potential and saying defense sales to the Kingdom are sure to get all the necessary approvals from Congress.

Trump also said the Crown Prince urged him to get involved in seeking a resolution ot the devastating military conflict in Sudan, and touted the Board of Peace set to be established for resolving Middle East conflicts, hinting its role will not be limited to Gaza.

TECH-

PIF’s AI champion Humain stole the show at the forum, partnering with big names in the US tech sector to power the delivery of both AI infrastructure and software in Saudi and abroad. The partnerships build on the Commerce Department’s approval yesterday to sell highly advanced Nvidia chips to Humain.

#1- An AI infrastructure JV with Cisco, AMD: Humain is partnering up with AMD and Cisco to form a JV that builds data centers in the Middle East, according to a statement from Cisco. AMD and Cisco will be exclusive suppliers of products and services to the JV, targeting to deliver 1 GW of AI infrastructure by 2030.

What we know: AMD and Cisco are minority shareholders and will share in gains and losses, CEOs of the three companies told Reuters without disclosing additional financial details. "We will together really have responsibility for ensuring that it's successful," AMD CEO Lisa Su said.

Already landed the first client: The unnamed JV will start with delivering a 100 MW data center in Saudi Arabia to supply video startup Luma AI, Humain CEO Tareq Amin told the newswire. Cisco will provide networking equipment and infrastructure while AMD will provide its MI450 AI chips. Cisco will also push capacity sales for future data centers, CEO Chuck Robbins said.

Construction of the first stage is slated to begin in 2026, using renewable energy entirely, Amin added.

#2- Humain led a USD 900 mn Series C funding round in Luma AI, which saw participation from AMD, and existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Amplify Partners, and Matrix Partners, according to a press release. The round values Luma at USD 4 bn.

Luma will be the anchor customer for Project Halo, an AI data center cluster in Saudi that is planned to eventually reach 2 GW of capacity, the statement said. The first GW is targeted to be online by 2030, Humain’s Tareq Amin told Bloomberg.

Luma’s partnership with Humain dates back to June, when the two announced that the AI startup will be powering the entertainment division Humain Create.

ALSO- Humain is partnering up with Elon Musk’s xAI to build a network of data centers, according to a statement. The two companies will start with a 500 MW facility in Saudi, and will cooperate to deploy xAI’s Grok models across the Kingdom.

… and Amazon: The PIF company is expanding its partnership with Amazon Web Services to deploy and manage up to 150k AI accelerators in a specialized data center facility called an “AI Zone,” according to a statement. The zone is set to serve both Saudi and global customers with compute capabilities.

Qualcomm and Adobe, too: Qualcomm is planning to open an AI engineering center in Riyadh to support Humain’s rollout of 200 MW in data center capacity,. Meanwhile, Adobe is collaborating with Humain on building Arab world-focused AI models and applications for creative use cases, including advertising, film, education and e-gaming.

ALSO SIGNED AT THE SUMMIT

ENERGY- Aramco inked 17 MoUs and agreements potentially worth USD 30 bn, it said in a press release. The agreements cover cover LNG, financial services, advanced materials manufacturing and more.

  • An MoU With MidOcean Energy for the potential investment in the Lake Charles LNG Project;
  • An MoU with Commonwealth LNG is related to a liquefaction project in Louisiana, US, as well as Aramco Trading’s potential purchase of LNG and gas;
  • Agreements with suppliers will provide materials and professional services, including SLB, Baker Hughes, McDermott, Halliburton, NESR, KBR, Flowserve, NOV, Worley, and Fluor;
  • Extending the MoU with Syensqo to explore localization of carbon fiber and advanced composites for industrial applications;
  • Wisayah asset management and investment agreements with Loomis Sayles, Blackstone, and PGIM;
  • An agreement with JP Morgan for account management.

ICYMI- The agreements build on USD 90 bn in MoUs signed back in May during the Riyadh forum.

MINERALS- Mining giant Maaden inked an agreement with US-based MP Materials and the US Department of War to establish a rare earth refinery in the Kingdom, according to a statement. Rare earth feedstock will be sourced from Saudi and abroad, and used at the refinery to produce heavy rare earth oxides essential for manufacturing and defense sectors in the Kingdom, the US and allies, according to the statement.

Maaden will hold at least 51% of the JV, while MP and the US government will jointly hold 49%.

AVIATION- Saudi inked a strategic agreement with GE Aerospace for GEnx-1B engines to power its Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 fleet, according to a statement. The agreement includes the supply of engines, a multi-year maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) program, as well as and spare engines and training programs delivered through Saudia Technic.

ON THE NUCLEAR FRONT- Saudi Arabia and the US have completed negotiations on a long-sought pact to share nuclear technology, potentially allowing US companies to build reactors in the Kingdom and opening the Saudi market for reactor construction and technology sales, Bloomberg reports, citing an Energy Department spokesman. The pact is part of a joint declaration establishing a framework for a “decades-long, multi-bn-USD nuclear energy partnership” that positions US firms as Saudi Arabia’s preferred civil nuclear partners.

What about non-proliferation? The formal 123 Atomic Energy Act agreement, which governs nuclear transfers and typically includes non-proliferation provisions, has not yet been signed. It remains unclear whether the signed agreement includes the “gold standard” barring spent uranium enrichment and reprocessing.

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