NVIDIA and HUMAIN Plan Computing Capacity of Up to 84 Megawatts in Saudi Arabia
Key Facts
HUMAIN and NVIDIA expanded their collaboration with a multi-phase plan to develop up to 84 megawatts of AI computing capacity in Saudi Arabia, including about 27,000 advanced GPUs, according to details reported by The National on October 22, 2026. The plan is divided into two phases that differ in technology and timing, making the full capacity a gradual rather than immediate rollout. The first phase starts with 14 megawatts of Blackwell HGX B300 systems in the fourth quarter of 2026. The larger portion, with a capacity of 70 megawatts, will rely on Vera Rubin architecture, with deployment planned to begin in mid-2027. HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin said the company is "moving quickly to bring NVIDIA's next generations of accelerated computing to Saudi Arabia at meaningful scale."
The first phase includes 14 megawatts of Blackwell HGX B300 systems, with deployment set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. This tranche marks the start of the announced program, while the schedule defers most of the capacity to the next phase. HUMAIN's Vera Rubin plan includes about 21,000 GPUs out of the total units expected to be deployed across both phases, underscoring the scale of the capacity slated for 2027. The plan describes these figures as capacity planned for deployment, not capacity fully operational at the time of the announcement. The phased rollout means the timing and allocations for each tranche are a key part of the expansion details.
The planned Vera Rubin phase totals 70 megawatts and represents about 21,000 GPUs, with deployment targeted to begin in mid-2027. Of this capacity, 50 megawatts have been allocated to AI workloads for an unnamed U.S. customer, with deployment targeted to begin in June 2027. The remaining 20 megawatts will support HUMAIN Cloud, with deployment expected to begin in July or August of the same year. This allocation puts part of the planned capacity toward serving an international customer, alongside capacity dedicated to HUMAIN's cloud platform. Vera Rubin projects remain subject to final agreements and deployment plans, according to The National, so their timing and allocations are contingent on completing those arrangements.
The new expansion comes under a collaboration first announced in May 2025, when HUMAIN aimed to develop AI factories with capacity of up to 500 megawatts over five years. The original plan began with an AI supercomputer featuring 18,000 NVIDIA GB300 Grace Blackwell processors. The current plan outlines specific phases totaling 84 megawatts, with Blackwell systems first, followed by Vera Rubin, while the 500-megawatt target remains a broader framework for the previously announced collaboration. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund owns HUMAIN, which plans to develop about 3 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2030 and more than 6 gigawatts by 2034. These targets show that the NVIDIA plan is part of a broader program to expand the company's data center infrastructure.
The program aligns with Saudi Arabia's National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, which aims to make the Kingdom one of the world's leading economies in the field by 2030. The strategy's goals include training more than 20,000 data and AI specialists and experts. The Council of Ministers also designated 2026 as the Year of Artificial Intelligence in Saudi Arabia, according to an announcement by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority. The expanded collaboration was announced at the NVIDIA GTC conference in Berlin, held from October 20 to 22, 2026. NVIDIA shares closed at $210.96 on October 23, 2026, the price shown in EL7 data.