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The US and Saudi Arabia have announced an agreement in which the White House said it was worth $600 million in sectors, including artificial intelligence and defense, as President Donald Trump launched his deal, the first war on the oil-rich Gulf Tour of the three countries.
The deal, announced Tuesday, includes commitments from Saudi Arabia’s new state-owned AI company, Humain, which includes building AI infrastructure in the kingdom using hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s most advanced chips over the next five years.
This will become one of the biggest AI chip orders by the provincial company, highlighting the size of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitions to position Saudi Arabia as a global AI hub, and boosting Nvidia’s desire to build a “sovereign AI” infrastructure around the world.
The first phase of Humain’s investment will include 18,000 deployments of Nvidia’s latest “Blackwell” servers, Nvidia said.
A White House press release welcomed “a $600 million commitment to Saudi Arabia’s US investment” and “an economic connection that can withstand the coming generation.”
He also cited Riyadh as saying it was a “nearly $142 billion” contract to “provide cutting-edge war combat equipment and services from more than 12 US defense companies.”
This includes air force and space capabilities, missile defense, maritime and border security, land force modernization, and communications systems upgrades.
The US also mentioned plans to invest $20 billion in Saudi data centers and US energy infrastructure.
But it didn’t immediately give the transaction a time frame. This includes contracts for US groups to build infrastructure projects in the kingdom.
Trump is trying to secure a pledge of trade and investment worth more than a tonne on his Gulf trip, which is also included in stops to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
©Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
The traditional US allies are one of the biggest buyers of American arms, boasting a sovereign wealth fund that collectively manages more than $30 and states all its ambitions to invest heavily in AI.
Many of the most powerful high-tech executives in the United States were also in Riyadh, including Elon Musk, Open’s Sam Altman and Nuvidia’s CEO Jensenfan, as Saudi Arabia held a flashy investment forum. Top investors including Black Rock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwartzman and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser also participated.
US tech companies are increasingly focusing on the Gulf Coast, where they manage some of the world’s largest and most active sovereign wealth funds to raise capital and seduce investment.
Meanwhile, the Gulf countries view AI as an important part of their plans to diversify their economy from oil and develop new industries, leveraging the financial muscles of their abundant energy resources and sovereign funds.
It comes last week when the Trump administration abolished Biden-era rules that saw Saudi Arabia, along with dozens of other countries, including India and Singapore, faced the purchase of the most powerful US-designed AI chips.
Riyadh will launch Franzin, which is chaired by Prince Mohammed, owned by Public Investment Fund, a $940 billion sovereign wealth fund, and will take action on strategy and investment in the sector on Monday the day before Trump arrives.
Since his first term as president, Prince Mohammed has maintained a good relationship with Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. A few days after Trump’s inauguration in January, he committed $600 million in Saudi Arabia over the next four years in the US.
The UAE followed up with a similar gesture and pledged in March to invest 1.4TN over the next decade. It is also seeking to establish itself as a major AI hub, making a strategic decision to invest in US technology.
Analysts question how Gulf countries can deploy such a vast amount of capital in the time frame they have been announced. Saudi Arabia in particular is working on lower oil prices, widening budget deficits and large scale domestic projects.
Trump flies to Qatar on Wednesday, and Doha expects himself to pledge his pledge to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States.
However, the president’s trip is hidden by the controversy sparked by his decision to accept a $400 million jumbo jet from Qatar to temporarily replace the Air Force.
Qatar’s gift is likely the biggest in recent history by the US president’s foreign and organization, attracting criticism from Trump supporters and opponents.
Trump’s trip to this region comes as the Middle East is still enduring the effects of the 19-month conflict that was triggered in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attack and the Israeli retaliatory attacks in Gaza.
As Trump focuses on investment trading, there has been little mention of the region’s crisis so far.
Additional Reports by Michael Acton of San Francisco
