Aramco completes $2.6 billion acquisition of 49% stake in Humain

Saudi Aramco has completed its acquisition of a 49% stake in artificial intelligence company Humain, formalizing an agreement first announced in October 2025, in a transaction involving approximately $2.6 billion in cash contributions during 2026.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) retains a 51% stake in Humain, while Aramco holds its interest through a wholly owned subsidiary. The transaction also includes contributions of AI, computing and digital assets from Aramco, according to a joint statement issued on November 1.

The deal follows a non-binding term sheet signed by PIF and Aramco on Oct. 28, 2025, outlining plans to consolidate their AI assets, capabilities and talent under Humain, with PIF retaining majority ownership.

The partnership supports Humain’s target of deploying 3 gigawatts (GW) of AI data center capacity by 2030. The company is also expanding across computing infrastructure, advanced AI models, applications and industry-specific solutions for public- and private-sector customers.

Amin Nasser, Aramco’s president and CEO, said the company had generated $11.3 billion in technology-realized value since 2023, with a significant portion attributable to AI solutions.

“This partnership with PIF strengthens Aramco’s position as a global technology leader and AI powerhouse, while laying the foundation for localizing the AI industry and enabling faster, more integrated, and scalable deployment of AI systems,” Nasser added.

Aramco plans to use Humain’s infrastructure to expand AI deployment across its industrial operations, including applications designed to improve its business ecosystem and global operational performance.

The energy company and its affiliates are also expected to benefit from Humain’s AI infrastructure and services through their roles as shareholders and strategic partners.

The partnership is expected to create opportunities for revenue growth and attractive margins, improve the monetization of Aramco’s existing AI and digital assets, and complement its core energy business.

Yazeed Al-Humied, PIF’s deputy governor and head of Middle East and North Africa investments, said consolidating the two shareholders’ AI investment portfolios under Humain would create synergies in talent development, technological advancement and intellectual property creation.

He added that the transaction would strengthen AI’s role across PIF’s six economic ecosystems, increase private-sector participation and support the development of advanced technologies in Saudi Arabia.

Launched in May 2025, Humain is developing AI capabilities spanning data centres, high-performance computing, cloud platforms, advanced models such as its multimodal Arabic large language model ALLaM, and AI solutions for businesses and governments. It aims to reach 3 GW of AI data centre capacity by 2030.

On October 21, Humain and DataVolt announced a preliminary agreement with AI cloud company Nebius to allocate up to 50 megawatts (MW) of data center capacity at their planned campus in Oxagon, part of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM development.

The allocation represents half of the initial 100 MW under construction in the project’s planned first phase of 360 MW, with operations expected to begin in phases starting in the fourth quarter of 2027.