HUMAIN

Saudi soccer clubs are shifting from high-spending strategies to prudent financial management due to debt and revenue constraints. Al-Nassr, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), faces a financial crisis exceeding $213 million in debts and has halted transfers, while Al-Hilal, now under billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, remains an exception with significant spending. PIF is restructuring its sports investments, reducing support for clubs like Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.

Saudi Arabia's AI company HUMAIN has partnered with Al Nassr, the Riyadh soccer club where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, to integrate AI technology into the team. The sponsorship includes logo placement on jerseys and a training center, as well as deployment of HUMAIN's sports technology and interactive entertainment platforms. Al Nassr, owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, faces financial challenges with over $200 million in debt.

Saudi Arabia’s AI company HUMAIN will provide 50 megawatts of computing power to Canada’s Cohere starting in late 2027. The deal, announced during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit, reflects improved bilateral relations and Saudi Arabia’s push to become an AI infrastructure hub. Cohere and HUMAIN will also collaborate on Arabic-language AI models.

Canada and Saudi Arabia signed 13 commercial agreements and memoranda of understanding worth $700m in defense, investment, AI, health technology, mining, and infrastructure. The deals include collaboration on AI through Canada's Cohere and Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN, as well as projects in renewable energy and carbon capture.

SpaceX's first-day stock surge increased the value of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's investment firm, Kingdom Holding Co., by nearly $7 billion. The firm holds 42.4 million SpaceX shares, and the stock's 19% rise boosted Alwaleed's net worth to over $27 billion. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and regional investors like Abu Dhabi's MGX and Qatar have also invested in AI and space ventures, including SpaceX and xAI.

Gulf sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia's PIF and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, are investing heavily in AI ventures like SpaceX, HUMAIN, OpenAI, and Anthropic, aiming to diversify their economies and achieve significant GDP contributions through AI by 2031. These investments follow past criticisms of speculative tech bets but now promise substantial returns as SpaceX and AI firms prepare for high-profile listings.

Luma AI is launching an open-access robotics lab to allow anyone to train robots using its software, expanding beyond its video generation models. The lab aims to democratize robotics software and infrastructure, with CEO Amit Jain emphasizing the need to avoid monopolization by a few companies.

Saudi Arabia's Qiddiya entertainment district is partnering with Google Cloud to use AI and data analytics for monitoring construction, visitor patterns, and operations. The project includes a Six Flags theme park, water park, World Cup stadium, and Formula 1 track, reflecting Saudi Arabia's broader strategy to become a global AI hub through partnerships with major US technology firms.