Riyadh, Saudi Arabia —Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, and HUMAIN, the newly launched AI innovation company backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), have announced a strategic partnership to invest over $5 billion in the creation of the Kingdom’s first-of-its-kind AI Zone.
The initiative will serve as a global hub for advanced artificial intelligence innovation, infrastructure, and talent development.
The AI Zone will include dedicated AWS AI infrastructure such as world-class semiconductors, UltraCluster networks for accelerated model training and inference, and access to industry-leading AI services including Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Bedrock, and Amazon Q. These services will support the Kingdom’s mission to lead the world in AI innovation and align with Vision 2030.
This new AI Zone builds upon AWS’s previously announced $5.3 billion investment to develop a cloud infrastructure region in Saudi Arabia, expected to launch in 2026. The new investment represents a further commitment to growing local and global demand for generative AI (genAI) technologies.
The partnership also aims to accelerate the development of Large Language Models (LLMs), including Arabic-focused LLMs (ALLaMs), and expand AI adoption across key sectors such as government, energy, healthcare, and education.
“We thank AWS for doubling down on their long-term partnership with the Kingdom. This new collaboration with HUMAIN lays the foundation for the intelligent era, accelerates our innovation momentum, grows our talent, and reinforces Saudi Arabia’s position as a global partner of choice in the age of AI.”
— His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology
Through this collaboration, startups in Saudi Arabia will gain access to AWS’s extensive technology stack and programs such as AWS Activate, further strengthening the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. AWS has already supported over 330,000 startups globally, and its partnership with HUMAIN is set to supercharge local innovation.
According to MAGNiTT, Saudi Arabia led the MENA region in 2024 with $750 million in venture capital funding, highlighting its momentum as a hub for tech entrepreneurship.
Matt Garman, CEO of AWS, said:
“This collaboration to build an AI Zone in Saudi Arabia will enable innovations across all industries using AWS’s advanced AI offerings, and reflects our commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Together, we will empower customers with cost-effective and secure cloud technologies, fuel innovation and economic growth across the nation, and enable HUMAIN to appeal to customers globally.”
As part of its long-term vision, AWS is also investing heavily in training and talent development. In partnership with PIF, AWS will train 100,000 Saudi citizens in cloud computing and genAI through the Amazon Academy, launched in 2023 as the largest program of its kind in the Middle East. Participants will have free access to training and certifications including the new AWS AI Practitioner and Machine Learning Engineer Associate credentials.
In line with Saudi Arabia’s goals to boost women’s participation in the workforce, AWS also launched the “Saudi Arabia Women’s Skills Initiative”, targeting 10,000 women for cloud skills development at no cost, in partnership with Skillsoft Global Knowledge.
According to PwC, AI is expected to contribute $130 billion to Saudi Arabia’s economy by 2030—more than 40% of the projected AI-driven economic impact across the entire Middle East.
This transformative collaboration between AWS and HUMAIN is poised to establish Saudi Arabia as a global center of excellence in AI, fueling innovation, creating high-value jobs, and driving sustainable growth across the digital economy.
