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Saudi Arabia’s $5B AI Zone To Spark Tech Jobs & Global Innovation
Backed by HUMAIN and AWS, the new AI Zone aims to train 100,000 Saudis, boost GenAI innovation, and drive a surge in tech job creation.
Saudi Arabia is doubling down on its ambition to become an AI-first economy with the launch of a dedicated “AI Zone”, a multibillion-dollar initiative designed to accelerate tech job creation, digital innovation, and startup growth.
At the heart of the project is a $5 billion+ investment from HUMAIN — the Kingdom’s new AI champion under the Public Investment Fund (PIF) — and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The collaboration marks one of the largest tech capacity-building efforts in the region and promises to transform Saudi Arabia’s digital landscape.
A central pillar of the initiative is training 100,000 Saudi citizens in cloud computing and generative AI, through Amazon Academy — described as the Middle East’s largest talent development program. The initiative aims to close the talent gap in AI and give Saudi nationals a foothold in one of the fastest-growing global tech sectors.
The AI Zone will also give Saudi businesses and government entities access to high-performance AI models through AWS. Companies will benefit from Amazon Q, an AI-powered coding assistant that can build GenAI agents to automate workflows, generate content, and deliver insights.
“This collaboration to build an AI Zone in Saudi Arabia will enable innovations across all industries using AWS’s advanced AI offerings,” said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services.
Alongside talent development and enterprise AI, the initiative is expected to invigorate the local startup ecosystem. Saudi Arabia led the MENA region in VC investment in 2024, with $750 million raised — a signal of growing appetite for innovation.
Also Read: HUMAIN & NVIDIA Partner To Build Saudi AI Factories Of The Future
The new zone will give startups access to AWS’s cloud stack and specialized AI support, helping them scale faster and innovate with confidence.
“This could be the spark the Saudi tech startup scene has needed,” said a regional consultant. “The AI Zone fills a gap in how tech jobs are created and supported”.
As the project’s architect, HUMAIN plans to use AWS tools to develop sovereign AI solutions and Arabic-focused LLMs like ALLaM. It also intends to launch a unified AI agent marketplace, simplifying how government and enterprise customers discover and deploy AI tools.
“Together with AWS, we’re creating the infrastructure, capability, and community to power the Kingdom’s AI-driven future,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN.
News
Dirham-Backed Stablecoin DDSC Enters Live Phase In UAE
Central Bank approval moves the dirham-backed token into deployment, targeting regulated payments and settlement flows.
The UAE has cleared the launch of DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin now entering live operation after approval from the Central Bank. The move pushes the project beyond its pilot phase and into the country’s regulated financial system.
The token is backed by a consortium led by IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), framing it as an institutional instrument rather than a consumer crypto product. DDSC was first announced in April 2025, but regulatory clearance now allows deployment and integration across approved channels.
DDSC runs on ADI Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The infrastructure is designed for governance and performance requirements expected by large institutions, linking blockchain settlement with existing compliance and oversight frameworks.
The focus is practical, targeting treasury settlements, high-value payments, trade and supply-chain transactions, and programmable financial flows for regulated entities. FAB plans to offer access to the token through approved platforms for its clients, keeping the rollout inside controlled banking environments.
“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey,” said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC. “With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments”.
Also Read: Basatne Debuts ORBT Platform For Digital Refunds In UAE
FAB says the project reflects how stablecoins can sit within traditional finance when risk controls are built in from the outset. “This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements,” said Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.
The launch reinforces the UAE’s strategy of pushing digital finance through regulation instead of open-ended crypto experimentation. Stablecoins in this model are positioned less as trading assets and more as programmable extensions of national currency, aimed at institutional scale and government use cases.
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