Prime Highlights:
- Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, will be the first client of a new data center in Saudi Arabia powered by hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips.
- The project is part of Saudi Arabia’s Humain initiative, backed by the Public Investment Fund, and involves global tech giants AMD, Qualcomm, and Cisco.
Key Facts:
- The facility will feature approximately 600,000 Nvidia GPUs and is part of the country’s broader “sovereign AI” strategy.
- AMD and Qualcomm will also supply chips, with AMD’s GPUs expected to consume up to 1 gigawatt of power by 2030, while Qualcomm will provide 200 megawatts of AI chips.
Background:
Saudi Arabia is set to host a state-of-the-art data center powered by hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips, with Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, as its first customer. The announcement was made during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., where Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang were both present.
The project continues an earlier partnership from May, when Nvidia agreed to supply the Saudi initiative, Humain, with chips using 500 megawatts of power. The data center will hold around 600,000 Nvidia graphics processing units, making it one of the largest technology infrastructure projects in the region.
Humain, launched earlier this year and owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, reflects the kingdom’s focus on “sovereign AI,” aiming to protect national security while fostering technological growth.
In addition to Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm will supply chips and AI systems for the center. AMD plans to provide Instinct MI450 GPUs that may require up to 1 gigawatt of power by 2030. Qualcomm will supply 200 megawatts of its new data center chips, and Cisco will provide extra infrastructure support.
The project shows Saudi Arabia is becoming more important in technology and working with big international companies.
