사우디 AI 기업 휴메인이 네옴의 옥사곤 산업단지 내 전용 데이터센터 기공식을 진행했다.

Saudi state-backed artificial intelligence venture Humain and developer DataVolt have commenced construction on a hyperscale data center at Oxagon, Neom’s new industrial district along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Announced at the Leap 2026 conference in Riyadh, the companies revealed an expanded partnership to develop 100MW of the 360MW targeted for the first phase, with operations expected to begin in 2028. The fully completed Oxagon campus will ultimately target a total capacity of 1.5GW.

Oxagon is a floating hexagonal industrial district located in the southwest of Neom, a megaproject city being developed across Tabuk Province and launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017. Oxagon will lease the land to DataVolt for facility development and provide the operator with infrastructure support. The site will reportedly be powered by Neom’s dedicated wind and solar assets.

Rajit Nanda, CEO of DataVolt, described the groundbreaking as “an important milestone” as the company advances the initial 360MW phase. “Our partnership with Humain brings together complementary capabilities with a clear focus on delivery and bringing world-class digital infrastructure capacity to the Kingdom,” Nanda said.

Tariq Amin, CEO of Humain, stated: “AI ambition only matters when you can turn it into infrastructure, compute and capacity that customers can use, that is what this partnership with DataVolt is about.” He added, “Construction is underway, 100MW is moving forward, and we are building with the speed and scale that the next era of AI demands.”

In a parallel development, DataVolt also announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi telecommunications firm Zain KSA to develop an unspecified number of data centers across the Kingdom. The collaboration will generate scalable capacity to meet Zain KSA’s future requirements while supplying additional infrastructure for government entities, commercial businesses, large enterprises, cloud service providers, digital content companies, and digital platforms. The facilities will deliver the computing power necessary to run and process advanced AI applications. According to DataVolt, the planned data centers will feature infrastructure engineered for high-density computing, advanced cooling systems, and high-capacity connectivity.

Saad bin Abdulrahman AlSadhan, CEO of Zain KSA, noted that developing data centers represents a “strategic step” for the company’s role in supporting Saudi Arabia’s digital infrastructure. The MoU aligns with Saudi Vision 2030, the comprehensive modernization initiative launched in 2016 to diversify the economy away from oil dependence and establish the Kingdom as a global technology hub.

For further insights into the Saudi data center market and opportunities to connect with regional executives and industry experts, participants are encouraged to attend the DCN Riyadh event next year.