Aramco Closes $2.6B Deal for 49% of HUMAIN

Saudi Aramco has closed a deal to buy 49% of HUMAIN, the artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the two said Nov. 1 in Dhahran. Aramco will pay about SAR 9.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in cash during 2026 and transfer AI, compute and digital assets, while PIF keeps a 51% majority, according to Aramco's announcement.

Key takeaways

• Aramco, through a wholly owned subsidiary, now holds 49% of HUMAIN; PIF retains 51%.
• Aramco contributes about SAR 9.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in cash in 2026, plus AI, compute and digital assets that the release does not itemize.
• HUMAIN plans to deploy 3 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2030.

Aramco HUMAIN deal terms

The transaction combines AI assets, capabilities and talent from the state fund and the oil producer under one company. The cash portion is due in 2026. Neither side disclosed a valuation for HUMAIN or named the specific assets Aramco is handing over.

PIF framed the closing as part of its 2026-2030 strategy. "Fully aligned with PIF's strategic objectives, this transaction accelerates HUMAIN's growth," said Yazeed A. Al-Humied, PIF deputy governor and head of MENA investments.

Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser called the deal "very important to Aramco," adding that "AI will therefore play a vital role in the future of business." The company said it will use HUMAIN's infrastructure for industrial applications and that its technology programs have generated $11.3 billion in "Technology Realized Value" since 2023.

What is HUMAIN?

PIF launched HUMAIN in May 2025. It works across four areas: next-generation data centers, high-performance infrastructure and cloud platforms, advanced AI models and AI solutions. Its models include ALLaM, which the company describes as one of the world's most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models.

The company says it aims to become one of the world's leading exporters of AI. The new 3-gigawatt target for 2030 is a measure of planned data center power capacity, not chips or revenue.

Context: a year from term sheet to close

PIF and Aramco first signed a non-binding term sheet for the deal in late October 2025. That earlier announcement described only a "significant minority stake" and made the deal subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approvals. It also noted that PIF had transferred the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence to HUMAIN.

At the time, Nasser said Aramco was "well positioned to capture opportunities from rising energy demand linked to AI growth," pointing to the energy side of the bet.

HUMAIN has also lined up chip supply. In May 2025, Nvidia said HUMAIN planned AI factories of up to 500 megawatts over five years, powered by several hundred thousand Nvidia GPUs, starting with an 18,000-unit GB300 Grace Blackwell supercomputer.

What's next

The open questions are execution and disclosure. Going from the 500-megawatt plan announced with Nvidia to 3 gigawatts by 2030 would require a much larger build-out, and neither company has published a site list, a capital budget for the target or a breakdown of the transferred assets.

FAQ

How much of HUMAIN does Aramco own? 49%, held through a wholly owned Aramco subsidiary. PIF keeps the remaining 51%.

How much is Aramco paying? About SAR 9.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in cash during 2026, plus AI, compute and digital assets.

What is HUMAIN's capacity goal? 3 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2030.

References

• PIF and Aramco close HUMAIN transaction to accelerate HUMAIN's global growth — Aramco (Nov. 1, 2026)
• PIF and Aramco agree for Aramco to acquire a significant minority stake in HUMAIN, with PIF retaining majority ownership — Public Investment Fund (2025)
• Saudi Arabia and NVIDIA to Build AI Factories to Power Next Wave of Intelligence for the Age of Reasoning — NVIDIA (May 13, 2025)
• Saudi Aramco acquires 49% stake in HUMAIN in $2.6bn AI deal with PIF — Arabian Business (Nov. 1, 2026)