Saudi Arabia's National Infrastructure Fund and Humain, the kingdom's ‍artificial intelligence company, ‍announced a financing agreement of up ​to $1.2 billion on Wednesday to support the expansion of ⁠AI and digital infrastructure in the country.

The agreement outlines non-binding ⁠financing terms for ‌the development of up to 250 megawatts of AI data centre capacity to support Humain's ⁠customers, and was announced in Davos, Switzerland, according to a statement.

The world's top oil exporter is seeking to accelerate its AI development to capitalise on ⁠massive demand for ​computing power, as part of a broader effort to diversify income sources ‍and economic activity away from hydrocarbons.

Humain, established last year and fully ​owned by the Public Investment Fund, is expected to lead national efforts to this end. It has secured several agreements including deals with Elon Musk's xAI and Blackstone-backed AirTrunk for data centre projects in the country, and is targeting a capacity of about 6 gigawatts by 2034.

Infra, part of Saudi Arabia's National Development Fund, and Humain ⁠also agreed to explore a potential ‌AI data centre investment platform, which they will jointly anchor, designed to help global and local institutional ‌investors support ⁠the growth of Humain's AI strategy.

(Reporting by Rachna Uppal and ⁠Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)