Tech and investment heavyweights from Silicon Valley descended on the Saudi capital this week on a historic visit alongside US President Donald Trump, marking a dramatic revival of strategic partnerships that had stalled under previous restrictive US policies.
The visit, seen as a pivot away from Washington’s earlier constraints on exporting artificial intelligence technology, featured some of the most influential figures in the global tech industry.
Among those attending Tuesday’s high-level gathering were Tesla CEO Elon Musk, NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Amazon chief Andy Jassy, BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp.
The visit was hailed by officials as ushering in a “new golden era” of US-Saudi relations. It came just one day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of HUMAIN, a Saudi AI innovation venture aimed at reshaping the Kingdom’s future through advanced technology.
In just 48 hours, US investment pledges in Saudi Arabia’s AI sector surged from $3 billion to over $21 billion, according to forum organizers.
Also announced was an expanded strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Google Cloud, projected to contribute approximately $70.6 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP in the coming years.
The series of announcements reflect Riyadh’s growing ambition to become a global hub for artificial intelligence, backed by top-tier US tech leadership and capital.
NVIDIA has delivered 18,000 next-generation AI chips to HUMAIN, in a move that could open the floodgates for artificial intelligence semiconductors across the Middle East.
The landmark delivery coincides with a sharp shift in US export policy, as the Trump administration begins dismantling restrictions on semiconductor exports imposed under President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, the US Commerce Department announced it would scrap Biden’s “AI deployment rule,” which had created three broad tiers of access for countries seeking to acquire AI chips. The rule was due to take effect on Thursday.
The reversal signals a significant policy pivot, potentially expanding access to powerful AI technology for key allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, which has been aggressively positioning itself as a future hub for artificial intelligence and advanced computing.
Industry analysts say the delivery of NVIDIA’s high-performance chips marks a major step toward establishing a regional AI infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale machine learning, cloud computing, and autonomous systems.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan affirmed that the Kingdom’s strategic partnership with the US in artificial intelligence and hyperscale data centers is expected to generate more than 22,000 high-quality jobs.
Speaking at a press conference, Prince Faisal emphasized that deepening cooperation in advanced technologies will play a key role in shaping Saudi Arabia’s economic future and workforce development.
