DUBAI: Wind power represents a huge untapped source of energy for Saudi Arabia, according to the CEO of Masdar.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast enjoys attractive wind resources similar to parts of Jordan where the Abu Dhabi-based company has also helped to develop wind power, said Mohamed Jameel Al-Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, in an interview on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum event in Dubai.
But the renewable energy source may be more challenging to develop in Masdar’s UAE home, where it has also been assessing its potential.
“In the UAE, it is not feasible,” he said. “We do have certain pockets of wind corridors where we could use new technology – for example now you have slow wind turbines for slow wind speeds –that could potentially be OK for these regions – but still the pricing is not right.’
Saudi Arabia offers considerably more potential for the development of wind energy.
“In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, wind will play a very important role. It is blessed with a lot of resources – not only solar,’ he said.
Masdar is the region’s largest exporter of renewable energy – operating utility-scale projects as well and a player in everything from off-grid power generation in Africa to autonomous vehicles.
Al-Ramahi said that Masdar was actively targeting projects in the Kingdom, which has started to invest heavily in renewable energy as part of a broader economic reform plan aimed at reducing its reliance on oil.
The Kingdom wants to develop about 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2023 – with solar power accounting for the lion’s share.
Masdar has invested about 10 billion dirhams ($2.7 billion) in projects worldwide.
Masdar chief urges Saudi Arabia to tap wind energy
Masdar chief urges Saudi Arabia to tap wind energy
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “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, 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.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
