If oil investment has been quiet for some time, that just changed. Led by Saudi Arabia, oil just got its AI. The Middle East petroleum nation just rolled out its AI start-up.
Dubbed Humaine, the project will help the kingdom rely less on oil revenues. However, according to the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, it will also transform the nation into “a global powerhouse in AI.”
The project became possible after the US lifted a technology ban on Saudi Arabia. The US has maintained certain restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips to the kingdom. The news comes at a good time when other Middle Eastern nations, like the UAE, are warming up to the new US government.
Oil AI Startup Draws Billions in US Tech Firm Investments
However, the Crown Prince seems to have powerful finance magnates, as the startup earned over $600B in investment in less than 48 hours.
Among the biggest investors are NVIDIA, Amazon, and AMD. NVIDIA is set to export hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips to Saudi Arabia, while AMD will invest $1B in an AI superstructure.
Amazon pledged $5B in creating a new AI zone furnished with AWS AI infrastructure, servers, networks, and training and certification programs.
While some critics have doubted the project's viability, Humaine has been a Saudi dream since early 2016. Although faced with many political obstacles, the project was launched yesterday. Humaine is financed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Seen as a personal project of the Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, Humaine will focus on introducing free AI tools and systems to streamline tech companies and digital workers.
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