HUMAIN: artificial intelligence with a Saudi imprint

Digital transformation

HUMAIN's announcements at FII9 were anything but routine. They marked a strategic reorientation, putting Saudi Arabia on the global AI map. HUMAIN now leads the drive to attract major tech investments and deliver a comprehensive digital transformation, cementing Saudi Arabia's role as a leading tech hub.

The beating heart of Saudi Arabia's digital transformation could soon be the HUMAIN One operating system. Far from being a simple voice command interface, it represents an intelligent operating layer built on the concept of smart agents that connect an organisation's various systems within a unified and integrated environment. This platform moves beyond the conventional app-based model, offering a sophisticated system powered by contextual intelligence and natural language interaction between human and machine.

HUMAIN One marks a shift in the concept of modern operating systems, from standalone software programmes towards an interconnected network of intelligent agents capable of understanding user intent and executing complex tasks within a consistent language and contextual framework. In doing so, AI evolves from passive tool to dynamic partner in management and analysis across a workplace.

The system brings together core functions such as human resources, procurement, finance, and operations within a single interactive language interface. Users speak or type their requests, then the AI searches, analyses, and executes processes in seconds. This redefines productivity and operational speed.

Its power lies in the integration of the advanced Arabic language model, Allam, with an agent orchestration engine that coordinates the network of specialised smart agents designed to handle specific tasks, such as HR or financial forecasting, all working together in a centralised environment. This orchestration engine serves as the system's operational core, distributing tasks across agents, tracking execution steps, and ensuring interaction between all components. The advantages are streamlining, efficiency, and productivity.

Best of both worlds

HUMAIN One supports multimodal reasoning—interpreting and analysing diverse inputs, including voice, images, and digital data, simultaneously. It also enables intelligent automation, both carrying out tasks and interpreting objectives, understanding context, and determining the most effective method to reach a given outcome. In short, it blends the computational power of machines with the interpretive capabilities of the human mind.

To ensure real-time performance, HUMAIN has partnered with Grok, a US-based firm specialising in low-latency inference technologies. Grok provides the high-performance computing infrastructure that allows agents to process voice commands and understand user intent at near-human speed, with hundreds of agents operating simultaneously without delay. Grok's architecture is known for its energy efficiency and minimal power consumption, reducing environmental impact and operational costs.

What sets HUMAIN One apart from traditional operating systems such as Windows or Android is its operational model. Rather than relying on launching individual applications, it functions through a seamlessly integrated network of smart agents. These agents operate as a coordinated digital workforce, completing entire processes without the need to switch tools or programmes.

Interactive AI requires immense computing power to support the colossal models now shaping the future, and the Middle East's largest computing power infrastructure is located within Saudi Arabia, with a projected capacity of six gigawatts. This will enable LLMs to deploy and operate domestically, with no need for foreign servers, heralding Saudi technological sovereignty. The country will not just be a consumer of AI, but an owner, developer, and exporter, too.

In collaboration with Blackstone, through its AirTrunk subsidiary, HUMAIN is building an expansive data centre complex with a capacity equivalent to six major power plants. This is to support some of the world's most advanced AI systems. Powered by renewable energy, the complex aligns with the goals of Vision 2030, which seeks to position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for high-performance computing and a leading exporter of digital energy, with enough computing power to export.

Power and competition

Siting data centres typically requires access to reliable energy and distance from residential zones, to ensure operational stability. This makes Saudi land particularly suitable for such large-scale projects. The country intends to establish three major data centre complexes to host big technology firms, but with a big and unique incentive: these complexes will be designated as sovereign zones, comparable to embassies, where companies can operate under their own national systems and regulations. This dramatically lowers administrative burdens and cuts operational costs by 30%.

HUMAIN recognises that powering AI needs more than energy; it also needs access to the chips that deliver computing capability. Since May, the company has been working to build an integrated computing ecosystem through strategic partnerships with the world's leading chip manufacturers, laying the foundation for genuine technological self-reliance.

Read more: Could China gatecrash the US-Gulf AI wedding?

Yet, this is a global industry, and Saudi Arabia finds itself at a crossroads, with the United States on one side and China on the other. They are the two big AI competitors. It is unclear whether Washington would accept strong Saudi-Chinese technology partnerships in this field, or whether it would impose tighter restrictions on AI chip exports to keep Riyadh aligned with American interests. Both outcomes are plausible, and the dynamics are more nuanced than they may appear.

Saudi Arabia seeks to move beyond oil and break free from technological reliance, becoming independent in areas such as AI, so much so that these are now national priorities. Analysts warn, therefore, that an overzealous Washington could inadvertently push Riyadh closer to China. It is a fine balance that must be struck in the formation of a new global digital landscape.

With strategic vision and calculated diplomacy, Saudi Arabia appears likely to adopt American technology without becoming overly dependent on it, while maintaining engagement with China without compromising its autonomy. Through this finely balanced equation, Saudi Arabia carves a path toward technological sovereignty.