HUMAIN, a global artificial intelligence company based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and AirTrunk, a renowned data center platform in the Asia Pacific region, have announced a strategic partnership to build data centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The initial project involves an approximately US$ 3 billion investment for a data center campus in Saudi Arabia.
HUMAIN is owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and AirTrunk is backed by Blackstone, a prominent global alternative asset manager, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The partnership marks AirTrunk’s foray into the Middle East. In a press release, the companies explained how the plans would unfold, saying HUMAIN, AirTrunk and Blackstone will develop a long-term strategic partnership focused on financing, developing, and operating next-generation data centers and AI infrastructure across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Together with AirTrunk and Blackstone, HUMAIN is strengthening the technological infrastructure that underpins the Kingdom’s digital economy. This partnership marks a pivotal moment in creating scalable, secure, and sustainable data center capacity to support the rapid growth of AI and cloud computing,” SAID Tareq Amin, CEO, HUMAIN. “This initiative not only accelerates Saudi Arabia’s technological advancement but also establishes a platform for long-term economic diversification and global competitiveness.”
Robin Khuda, Founder & CEO, AirTrunk said, “Our strategic partnership with HUMAIN, a key player in the region, will support Saudi Arabia to realize its vision of being a data- and AI-driven economy. We’re bringing together the whole digital ecosystem, combining HUMAIN’s end-to-end AI capabilities, from infrastructure to models, with AirTrunk’s leading hyperscale data center capabilities. This announcement strengthens the AirTrunk data center platform as we deliver world-class digital infrastructure for the cloud and AI across the Asia Pacific and now the Middle East, which is one of the fastest growing regions in the world.”
Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone, said, “The AI revolution continues to be one of Blackstone’s highest conviction themes, and we bring scale and expertise across the ecosystem as the largest provider of data centers globally and a significant investor in related services and infrastructure. This initiative reinforces Blackstone’s position as one of the world’s leading investors in digital infrastructure and marks a commitment to deepening our presence in the Middle East.”
The collaboration aligns with HUMAIN’s mandate to position the Kingdom as a global leader in artificial intelligence and reinforces its commitment to building best-in-class digital and AI infrastructure. Through this partnership, HUMAIN will lead national efforts to deliver large-scale, AI-ready infrastructure.
Meanwhile Blackstone and AirTrunk will lead development, bringing global expertise, operational excellence, and investment capacity. The parties will cooperate across several key areas, including data center design, construction, and operation; financing through equity and debt; and go-to-market initiatives to attract hyperscalers and enterprise clients. The partnership will also focus on developing local talent and capabilities, supporting Saudi Arabia’s ambition to build a globally competitive and sustainable digital ecosystem.
