AMD, Cisco and HUMAIN Bring AI Infrastructure Online in Saudi Arabia, Plan 1GW Expansion
AMD, Cisco and HUMAIN have announced that AI infrastructure based on AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs, AMD EPYC CPUs and Cisco Silicon One networking is now operational in Saudi Arabia and serving HUMAIN customers in the Kingdom and beyond. The deployment marks a significant milestone in the companies’ plans to establish an open, large-scale AI infrastructure platform in Saudi Arabia. The production environment combines AMD’s high-performance compute with Cisco’s networking architecture to support workloads ranging from AI model training to inference.
The infrastructure uses Cisco Silicon One and Cisco 800G optics, with the Cisco N9000 Series platform connecting AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs through an AI-optimised fabric designed to deliver high performance, low latency and operational resilience. The infrastructure enables HUMAIN to provide GPU-as-a-service to customers across a range of AI applications.
The companies are now preparing for the next stage of their previously announced joint venture. AMD, Cisco and HUMAIN plan to deploy up to 250MW of AI infrastructure beginning in 2027, powered by AMD Instinct MI400 Series GPUs, AMD EPYC CPUs and AMD ROCm open software, alongside Cisco networking and supporting infrastructure. Initial capacity is expected to come online during the second half of 2027.
Driven by customer demand, the joint venture remains on track to deploy up to 1GW of AI infrastructure by 2030, significantly expanding Saudi Arabia’s domestic AI compute capacity. “Bringing AMD Instinct systems online in Saudi Arabia is an important milestone in our work with HUMAIN,” said Dr Lisa Su, Chair and CEO, AMD. “Together, we are building an open, high-performance AI platform that is serving customers today and will scale significantly in the coming years. With AMD Instinct GPUs, EPYC CPUs and ROCm open software at the foundation, we are expanding the compute capacity needed to advance AI innovation across the Kingdom and globally.”
Tareq Amin, CEO, HUMAIN, said the production deployment demonstrates the company’s ability to build and operate AI infrastructure at scale. “Demand for sovereign, high-performance AI infrastructure continues to grow, and together with AMD and Cisco, we are expanding Saudi Arabia’s role as a platform serving customers across the Kingdom, the region and globally,” he said.
Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO, Cisco, said the deployment reflects the region’s transition from AI investment towards operational delivery. “The region is moving quickly from AI investment to delivery, and through our work with HUMAIN and AMD, Cisco is building the critical infrastructure to make AI vision a reality – in the Kingdom and beyond,” Robbins said.
The collaboration is designed to provide governments, enterprises, research institutions and developers with access to advanced AI capabilities through an infrastructure platform built around open models, open software and locally operated infrastructure. The approach is intended to give organisations greater control over where their data is stored, how models are customised and how AI systems are deployed and governed.
AMD’s AI compute platforms and ROCm open software ecosystem provide the compute and software foundation, while Cisco’s network architecture is designed to be open and interoperable. The networking environment also provides visibility and centralised control as infrastructure capacity expands. The companies say the platform will allow organisations to develop AI capabilities tailored to their languages, cultures, regulatory requirements and national priorities.
By combining AMD’s AI compute, Cisco’s networking infrastructure and HUMAIN’s local AI capabilities and operations, the partners aim to build an AI platform capable of supporting AI laboratories, model providers, enterprises and developers in Saudi Arabia and the wider global market. The expansion is part of Saudi Arabia’s broader push to establish sovereign AI capabilities and increase its position as a regional and global hub for AI infrastructure and innovation.
