A record number of exhibitors have lined up for the three-day Saudi Arabia International Oil & Gas Exhibition (SAOGE) 2010 that opens here today.
Close to 190 companies will host in excess of 8,000 visitors as industry representatives from 21 countries will be attending SAOGE 2012.
The International Exhibition Service (IES) and Dhahran International Exhibitions Center (DIEC) have teamed as co-organizers of the event. They are extremely proud that SAOGE has maintained its position as the sole oil and gas exhibition in the Eastern Province, and has continued to deliver an essential platform for key industry professionals, specialists and decision-makers.
“Attendees travel from across the Gulf region, and beyond, to Dammam where SAOGE provides the perfect platform to meet, network, learn and strengthen relationships,” the IEC said in a statement.
Launched in 2009 at the 2nd Edition, the initiative to support the Kingdom’s Saudization program continues this year with the “SAOGE Student Program,” which once again offers the industries’ next generation a place to ask questions of the experts, as they consider their career options.
An extremely interesting and high-level group of industry and country representatives will participate in the opening ceremony.
Piero Zipoli, president of IES, which organizes several exhibitions specializing in oil and gas all over the world, said: “We pay special attention to the Saudi Arabian International Oil and Gas Exhibition (SAOGE) and regularly see great demand from multinational companies to participate and be at the heart of the industry. SAOGE clearly offers them a platform for more insight into the possibilities for new investments, developments and technologies, aimed at the global petroleum sector.”
In addition to the considerable industry endorsements that SAOGE enjoys, SAOGE 2012 will also be supported by the Saudi Arabian Section of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (SAS-AIChE) and the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (BUSACC).
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional society that provides a forum for the advancement of the theory and practice of the Chemical Engineering profession, and the Saudi Arabian section (SAS AIChE) holds meetings and company visits to support this. Based in Houston, BUSACC is an association that serves as a conduit to create strategic connections between prominent US and Middle East/North Africa (MENA) organizations. Their board of advisers, is gathered from a cross-section of the major global oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil Corporation, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), GDF Suez Energy North America and ConocoPhillips.
Meanwhile, SABIC have confirmed their participation and will be joining SAOGE 2012 as a new gold sponsor. SABIC joins an already prestigious group of gold sponsors who continue to support SAOGE, such as Abdulla Fouad Holding Co., Al-Abdulkarim Holding Co. and Industrialization & Energy Services Co. (TAQA).
Key oil and gas exhibition opens in Dammam today
Key oil and gas exhibition opens in Dammam today
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.
