Aramco takes stake in HUMAIN as Gulf AI investment expands

Aramco has acquired a 49% stake in HUMAIN for approximately $2.6 billion in cash, with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) retaining 51%. Launched by PIF in May 2025, HUMAIN spans data centres, high-performance compute, cloud platforms, the Arabic LLM ALLaM and sector-specific AI solutions. It is targeting 3 GW of AI data centre capacity by 2030. Aramco intends to monetise existing AI and digital assets through HUMAIN’s infrastructure and provide an industrial environment for deployment.

HUMAIN has also acquired Riyadh-based enterprise technology firm CNTXT, adding cloud transformation, data analytics, cybersecurity and integration capabilities. Founded in 2022, CNTXT brings proprietary products, customer relationships and delivery expertise that extend HUMAIN’s ability to support customers from AI strategy through implementation and live operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EQT is discussing AI and digital infrastructure co-investments with sovereign investors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The firm manages $400 billion in assets and is pursuing Gulf expansion through portfolio company EdgeConneX, which operates more than 106 data centres across 25 countries. ADIA and Mubadala are significant partners, and EQT has confirmed discussions with Saudi investors.

Elsewhere in regional funding, UAE-based Journify raised $12M Series A from Al Mada Ventures. Oman-based mamun raised $3M seed from Phaze Ventures.