HUMAIN and Blackstone-backed AirTrunk announce partnership to build state-of-the-art data centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

AirTrunk, the leading data center platform in the Asia Pacific region, backed by the world's largest alternative asset manager Blackstone, will mark its entry into the Middle East through a strategic partnership with HUMAIN

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HUMAIN, a global artificial intelligence company based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia building end-to-end AI capabilities, and AirTrunk, the leading data center platform in the Asia Pacific region, have agreed to establish a strategic partnership to build data centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The initial project involves an approximately US$3 billion investment for a data center campus in Saudi Arabia.

The partnership combines HUMAIN's trusted reputation as the national AI champion with AirTrunk's proven track record and operational expertise with key cloud and AI customers to advance Saudi Arabia's vision to become a global innovation hub.

HUMAIN is owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and AirTrunk is backed by Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Together, the companies' financial strengths and industry leadership underscore the significance of this initiative in shaping the region's digital ecosystem.

Tareq Amin, Chief Executive Officer of HUMAIN, said: "Together with AirTrunk and Blackstone, HUMAIN is strengthening the technological infrastructure that underpins the Kingdom's digital economy. This partnership marks a pivotal moment in creating scalable, secure, and sustainable data center capacity to support the rapid growth of AI and cloud computing. This initiative not only accelerates Saudi Arabia's technological advancement but also establishes a platform for long-term economic diversification and global competitiveness."

Robin Khuda, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at AirTrunk said: "Our strategic partnership with HUMAIN, a key player in the region, will support Saudi Arabia to realize its vision of being a data- and AI-driven economy. We're bringing together the whole digital ecosystem, combining HUMAIN's end-to-end AI capabilities, from infrastructure to models, with AirTrunk's leading hyperscale data center capabilities. This announcement strengthens the AirTrunk data center platform as we deliver world-class digital infrastructure for the cloud and AI across the Asia Pacific and now the Middle East, which is one of the fastest growing regions in the world."

Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Blackstone, said: "We are thrilled to help power this next era of innovation in the Middle East and enable AirTrunk's expansion in this important region. The AI revolution continues to be one of Blackstone's highest conviction themes, and we bring scale and expertise across the ecosystem as the largest provider of data centers globally and a significant investor in related services and infrastructure. This initiative reinforces Blackstone's position as one of the world's leading investors in digital infrastructure and marks a commitment to deepening our presence in the Middle East."

HUMAIN, AirTrunk and Blackstone will develop a long-term strategic partnership focused on financing, developing, and operating next-generation data centers and AI infrastructure across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The collaboration aligns with HUMAIN's mandate to position the Kingdom as a global leader in artificial intelligence and reinforces its commitment to building best-in-class digital and AI infrastructure. Through this partnership, HUMAIN will lead national efforts to deliver large-scale, AI-ready infrastructure, while Blackstone, the world's largest data center investor, and its portfolio company AirTrunk, the leading data center platform in the Asia Pacific region, will lead development, bringing global expertise, operational excellence, and investment capacity. The parties will cooperate across several key areas, including data center design, construction, and operation; financing through equity and debt; and go-to-market initiatives to attract hyperscalers and enterprise clients. The partnership will also focus on developing local talent and capabilities, supporting Saudi Arabia's ambition to build a globally competitive and sustainable digital ecosystem.

About HUMAIN
HUMAIN, a PIF company, is a global artificial intelligence company delivering full-stack AI capabilities across four core areas: next-generation data centers, hyper-performance infrastructure & cloud platforms, advanced AI Models, including the world's most advanced Arabic multimodal LLMs, and transformative AI Solutions that combine deep sector insight with real-world execution. 

HUMAIN's end-to-end model serves both public and private sector organizations, unlocking exponential value across all industries, driving transformation and strengthening capabilities through human-AI synergies. With a growing portfolio of sector-specific AI products and a core mission to drive IP leadership and talent supremacy world-wide, HUMAIN is engineered for global competitiveness and national distinction.
www.humain.ai 

About AirTrunk
AirTrunk is a leading hyperscale data centre specialist delivering essential infrastructure to scale Asia-Pacific & Middle East's digital future, accelerated by cloud and artificial intelligence. The company's growing data centre platform meets the needs of the world's most transformational companies, delivering customers a scalable data centre solution at a significantly lower build and operating cost than the market. AirTrunk creates shared value with communities by embedding sustainability through industry-leading energy and water efficiency, renewable energy and water solutions and its social impact program.

A private company, AirTrunk is well capitalized to fund development of hyperscale data centres across the region, including its groundbreaking sustainable financing platform. In 2024, Blackstone (the world's largest alternative asset manager) along with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), acquired AirTrunk, investing alongside AirTrunk's Founder and CEO Robin Khuda and valuing the company at over A$24 billion.

www.airtrunk.com

About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone's over $1.2 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Press Contacts
HUMAIN:
Hana Nemec 
[email protected]

AirTrunk:
Lise Kay
+61 413 444 899
[email protected] 

Blackstone:
Ellen Bogard
+852 9731 9726
[email protected] 

Dafina Grapci-Penney
+44 (0)755 367 3528
[email protected] 

Paula Chirhart
+1 347 463 5453
[email protected] 

SOURCE HUMAIN