Amazon says it will work with Humain, the AI company recently launched by Saudi Arabia’s ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, to invest “$5 billion-plus” in a strategic partnership to build an “AI Zone” in Saudi Arabia.
The AI Zone will include dedicated Amazon Web Services (AWS) AI infrastructure, servers, networks, and training and certification programs, according to a press release. Humain is pledging to develop AI solutions using AWS technologies, and to work with AWS on providing access to tools and programs for Saudi Arabia-based AI startups.
AWS joins tech giants Nvidia, AMD, and others in partnering with Humain, which is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). American tech firms have looked to the PIF as a source of capital. Companies like Google and Salesforce have also recently worked with the PIF on AI-related projects and investments.
President Donald Trump and several tech industry allies attended a U.S.-Saudi investment forum on Tuesday. Under a new Trump administration initiative, U.S.-based tech suppliers including the aforementioned Nvidia and AMD have been permitted to arrange deals with Saudi Arabian firms.
Saudi Arabia has mandated AI companies and services in the kingdom store data locally, pushing vendors to put facilities there to avoid losing contracts. Both Google and Oracle have announced expansion plans in the region over the past year.
Amazon early last March pledged to spend billions of dollars on data centers in Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, the company said it is devoting around $5.3 billion to develop an AWS region in the kingdom scheduled to come online in 2026. The AI Zone commitments are an “additional investment” separate from the roughly $5.3 billion, Amazon said. It isn’t clear, however, if Amazon’s contribution to the AI Zone will draw on the tranche the company originally announced.
TechCrunch has reached out to Amazon for clarification and will update this piece if we hear back.
