Humain and xAI Announce $3 Billion Investment Ahead of SpaceX Acquisition
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – February 18, 2026 — Humain, a Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed AI company, announced a $3 billion investment in xAI’s Series E funding round to support Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence expansion. The stake converted into SpaceX shares after SpaceX acquired xAI on February 2, 2026, positioning Humain as a significant minority shareholder in one of the largest technology mergers on record.
Announcement Specifics
Humain invested $3 billion in xAI’s Series E round, announced February 18, 2026. The investment supports xAI’s expansion, with Humain’s holdings now converted to SpaceX equity following the acquisition. The partnership builds on a November 2025 collaboration to design, build, and operate data centers deploying xAI’s Grok AI models across Saudi Arabia, based in Riyadh.
“This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge.”
— Tareq Amin, CEO at Humain
Why it matters: This signals Saudi Arabia’s strategic commitment to AI infrastructure development under Vision 2030.
“xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
— Tareq Amin, CEO at Humain
Why it matters: The statement underscores Humain’s alignment with Musk’s integrated technology ventures spanning AI and space capabilities.
Industry Context
Saudi Arabia competes with the United Arab Emirates to establish dominance as the Middle East’s AI hub, investing heavily in data centers and forging strategic alliances with U.S. technology leaders. Humain targets handling 7% of global AI training and inferencing workloads by 2030. The $3 billion commitment deepens Gulf sovereign wealth ties to U.S. AI companies, potentially accelerating sovereign AI capabilities amid intensifying U.S.-China technology competition. The deal positions Riyadh as an AI epicenter, enabling deployment of advanced AI infrastructure including solar-powered, space-based capabilities through SpaceX technology integration.
Forward Outlook
Humain’s stake positions Saudi Arabia to lead MENA AI adoption, with immediate next steps including data center rollouts across the Kingdom and Grok model deployment throughout the region. The partnership is expected to provide advanced AI tools for regional applications including financial services, payments infrastructure, and fraud detection systems.
Sources: PYMNTS, Yahoo Finance, Reuters, Humain, The New York Times
