STC and Humain to build 1GW of data centre capacity

Saudi Arabia’s STC Group and Humain, the kingdom’s national artificial intelligence company, have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture that will develop and operate AI-focused data centres.

Humain will hold 51 percent, while the Digital Centers for Data and Telecommunications Company (Center3), a subsidiary of telecom operator STC, will own 49 percent of the venture, STC said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange. No financial details were given.

The new venture will begin by developing data centres with capacity of 250 megawatts. Total operational capacity will eventually reach up to 1 gigawatt.

Work on the centres will be subject to contractual commitments with customers.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns all of Humain and 62 percent of STC.

The venture will support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals by localising advanced digital infrastructure and enabling the development of AI capabilities.

Further reading:

• What’s happening with data centres in the Gulf?
• UAE’s Khazna enters Saudi Arabia with first data centre
• Global investors view Mena data centres as long-term bets

In August Humain commenced work on its first data centres in the kingdom, with launches in Riyadh and Dammam expected in the second quarter next year, each with an initial capacity of at least 100MW.

The AI company was launched ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May. It aims to develop advanced AI infrastructure, including next-generation data centres, cloud platforms and large-scale Arabic-language models.

STC has around 25 operational data centres in the kingdom, with expansion plans in place. The company’s shares closed 0.3 percent lower at SAR42.06 on Thursday but have risen 4 percent in the past year.