US-Saudi AI Alliance

Extracted Attributes

• Alignment

  Saudi Vision 2030

• Primary Goal

  Position Saudi Arabia as a global AI and technology superpower

• Economic Impact

  Major economic and technological transformation in the Middle East, signaling opportunities for founders and investors

• Key Focus Areas

  AI Inferencing, proprietary foundational models, enterprise solutions

• Regional Ambition

  Humain aims to be a compelling regional alternative to global hyperscalers

• Proprietary Models

  humane chat (Arabic-first), humane one (enterprise solutions)

• Funding (for Humain)

  Public Investment Fund (PIF)

• Geopolitical Strategy

  Countermeasure to China's (Huawei) technological ambitions

• Strategic Advantage Leveraged

  Saudi Arabia's Energy Advantage, Western-educated Talent Pool

Timeline

• Full diplomatic relations established between Saudi Arabia and the United States. (Source: wikipedia)

  1933-XX-XX

• Bilateral relations formalized under the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. (Source: wikipedia)

  1951-XX-XX

• Trump administration strengthens Saudi-U.S. relations and commits to new investments, including in technology infrastructure. (Source: wikipedia, web_search_results)

  2017-05-XX

• US and Saudi Arabia announce tech investments in a new partnership, with multiple U.S. and Saudi companies collaborating on AI and computing infrastructure development. Nvidia commits to providing hundreds of thousands of Blackwell GPUs over five years, starting with 18,000 chips for a Saudi-built supercomputer. AMD commits to a $10 billion investment. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-20

• Cisco expands its partnership with Saudi Arabia, collaborating with HUMAIN AI enterprise to power AI infrastructure and ecosystem growth, supporting Vision 2030. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-XX

• Google announces a partnership for a global AI hub in Saudi Arabia, aiming to accelerate AI application, deliver innovation, economic growth, and societal benefits, and create highly-skilled jobs and AI training programs. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-XX

Saudi Arabia–United States relations

Bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States began in 1933 when full diplomatic relations were established. These relations were formalized under the 1951 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. Despite the differences between the two countries—an Islamic absolute monarchy versus a secular constitutional republic—the two countries have been allies ever since. The U.S. provides military protection to the Kingdom in exchange for a reliable oil supply, pricing of oil in U.S. dollars, and support for American foreign policy. Ever since the modern relationship began in 1945, the U.S. has been willing to overlook some of the kingdom's domestic and foreign policy aspects as long as it maintained oil production and supported American national security policies. These aspects include Wahhabism, its human rights record, and alleged state-sponsored terrorism. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the alliance deepened, as both countries jointly supported Afghan resistance militias during the 1980s. The Gulf War (1990–1991) marked a high point in the relationship when both countries and the UK jointly led an international military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. While the two countries continue to enjoy strong ties, critical disagreements have emerged over the years. Examples include Israel, the 1973 oil embargo, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the "War on Terror", and Saudi influence after the September 11 attacks. In recent years, particularly since the Barack Obama administration, the relationship has become strained and witnessed a major decline. Saudi-U.S. relations were strengthened by the Trump administration's trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2017. In October 2018, Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in a Saudi consulate in Turkey. This became a breaking point in relations and caused a serious rift between the two countries. The United States sanctioned some Saudi nationals, and Congress attempted to cut off U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia related to the war in Yemen. However, this was unsuccessful due to opposition from the Trump administration. Turkish authorities and U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the killing was ordered by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. During his election campaign, Biden had pledged to make Saudi Arabia "a pariah". The Biden Administration emphasized its human rights policy as the key arbiter of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. Diplomatic relations hit a new low after a February 2021 U.S. intelligence report accused the crown prince of being directly involved in the assassination of Khashoggi. During Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Saudi Arabia defied U.S. efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin and instead strengthened relations with Russia by coordinating to reduce oil output of OPEC countries in October 2022. This event triggered a strong backlash in the United States, with relations sinking to an "all-time low" and tensions exacerbating further. American officials have criticized Saudi Arabia for actively enabling Russians to bypass US-EU sanctions and for undermining Western efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin. Saudi Arabia has also defied the United States' China containment policy. In December 2022, Saudi Arabia hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a series of summits to sign a "comprehensive strategic partnership agreement" which elevated Sino-Arab relations. However, after Trump returned to the presidency in 2025, he chose to visit the Kingdom again as his first visit, while calming the friction caused by the previous administration.

Web Search Results

• Realigning US-Saudi relations for the AI era - Middle East Institute

  As Saudi Arabia accelerates its transformation into a global technology powerhouse, the United States has a pivotal opportunity to redefine its partnership with the kingdom. Moving beyond the traditional oil-for-security framework, a new partnership centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital infrastructure can anchor US-Saudi relations in the 21st century.​ Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to diversify the kingdom's economy and [...] Saudi Arabia’s vast financial resources, strategic investments in AI, and surplus energy reserves position the kingdom as a formidable contender in the global race for computational dominance — and a pivotal node in the emerging AI ecosystem. For the United States, this presents a strategic opportunity to deepen ties with a key ally. The US can support Saudi Arabia's modernization efforts by collaborating on technology initiatives while securing its own interests in a region increasingly [...] The United States could establish a replicable model for digital cooperation across the Gulf and the broader Global South — and unlock greater market access for American firms — by negotiating a comprehensive AI partnership with Saudi Arabia. In a world where compute capacity, data localization, and cloud sovereignty are becoming strategic levers of power, such a partnership would offer a blueprint for aligning security, economic interests, and technological standards. The future of export

• US and Saudi Arabia announce tech investments in new partnership

  “We are proud of this partnership for a global AI hub that will accelerate the application of AI to deliver innovation, economic growth and societal benefits to Saudi Arabia and to global companies doing business in the region,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said. “In addition, together we will create highly-skilled jobs and deliver AI training programs to open new, rewarding career pathways for Saudis. We acknowledge and are grateful for the [...] Multiple U.S. and Saudi companies will come together under a joint economic partnership to support artificial intelligence and computing infrastructure development in both countries. The Trump administration committed to new investments with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, announcing the plan for industries in both nations to spend $600 billion on items like technology infrastructure, among others. [...] The chief objectives of the AI hub are to bring Google AI’s technology to Saudi Arabia, support business development in the Middle East and North Africa region and advance U.S. AI solutions’ presence worldwide. Google Cloud said it is slated to generate $35 billion for the U.S., along with about 11,000 American jobs, by 2040.

• The Middle East's Big Bet on Artificial Intelligence and Data Security

  engineering talent. The collaboration between an American hyper-scaler and a Saudi company delivering full-stack AI capabilities will likely further position the Kingdom as an emerging AI leader.

• What The U.S.-Saudi Partnership Really Means For The Future Of AI

  He added that this partnership exemplifies the shifting dynamics in global AI development, where emerging economies are building capabilities at warp speed to challenge established tech leaders. [...] More than mere ambition, it all looks like a calculated move to own the full AI stack — compute, models and data — inside national borders. “I view this as a strategic pivot towards sovereign AI capabilities,” Nic Adams, co-founder and CEO of 0rcus told me in an interview. “By investing in domestic AI factories and training programs, Saudi Arabia aims to reduce dependency on external technologies, further asserting its position in the global AI hierarchy.” [...] The linchpin of Saudi Arabia’s strategy is Humain, a newly launched AI company backed by the country’s Public Investment Fund and chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In partnership with Nvidia and AMD, Humain aims to transform the Kingdom into a regional AI superpower. According to Reuters, Nvidia will provide hundreds of thousands of its newest Blackwell GPUs over five years, starting with 18,000 chips to power a Saudi-built supercomputer. AMD has committed to a $10 billion

• Cisco Expands Partnership with Saudi Arabia to Power the AI Future

  “AI can unlock groundbreaking opportunities for economic growth and innovation, accelerating KSA’s Vision 2030,” said Chuck Robbins, Cisco Chair and CEO. “Today marks a new milestone in more than 25 years of partnership with the Kingdom. Together, we are embracing the future and empowering organizations across the public and private sectors to harness the potential of AI and be at the forefront of this revolution.” [...] This landmark collaboration will set a new standard for how AI infrastructure is designed, secured and delivered – combining Cisco’s global expertise with the Kingdom’s bold AI ambitions. As the cornerstone in a wider set of new investments in research, talent and innovation, the partnership builds on Cisco’s 25-year commitment to Saudi Arabia’s digital and economic growth. [...] Cisco Expands Partnership with Saudi Arabia to Power the AI Future Cisco to partner with Saudi Arabia’s new HUMAIN AI enterprise to power AI infrastructure and ecosystem growth. New investments in research, talent and digital skills aim to accelerate the Kingdom’s AI journey. The partnership supports Vision 2030 by advancing Saudi Arabia’s transformation into a leading, diversified digital economy.