Saudi artificial intelligence (AI) company Humain and data centre developer DataVolt have started construction on an AI data centre at Oxagon, the industrial city component of the $500bn Neom development on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

The companies announced an expanded partnership at the Leap technology event in Riyadh to develop 100MW of capacity, which will form part of a 360MW phase at the site. The first 100MW is expected to be available in 2028. The wider campus is planned to reach 1.5GW.

Humain, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will combine its capabilities across the AI stack with DataVolt's experience in developing, financing and operating digital infrastructure. The facility is designed to support large-scale AI and cloud workloads for domestic and international customers, and is expected to integrate renewable energy and advanced cooling systems.

Humain chief executive Tareq Amin said construction was under way and that the companies were building at the speed and scale the next era of AI demanded. DataVolt chief executive Rajit Nanda said breaking ground at Oxagon was an important milestone as the first phase moved forward.

The project draws on Oxagon's pre-zoned industrial land, energy resources and subsea cable connectivity to Europe and Africa. Aiman Al-Mudaifer, managing director and chief executive of Neom, said the ability to secure power, land and connectivity was becoming critical to the economics of AI compute.

The groundbreaking builds on an earlier agreement. In February 2025, Neom and DataVolt signed a deal to develop data centre infrastructure at Oxagon, backed by an investment of about $5bn, with a 1.5GW first phase due to be operational by 2028. Under that agreement, Oxagon leases land to DataVolt and provides infrastructure support. In September 2025, DataVolt signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's LG Electronics to supply cooling for the Oxagon facility, which is designed to operate with net-zero carbon emissions.

DataVolt, founded in 2023, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vision Invest, a Saudi developer focused on public-private partnerships. Vision Invest's portfolio also includes utility developers Acwa Power and Miahona Company.

Humain was launched in May 2025 to operate and invest across the AI value chain, building capabilities across next-generation data centres, high-performance infrastructure and cloud platforms, and advanced AI models, including Allam. It has signed multibillion-dollar deals with US chipmakers AMD and Nvidia, and in October 2025 agreed non-binding terms under which Saudi Aramco would acquire a minority stake, with PIF retaining majority ownership.

In May 2026, Humain issued a tender for infrastructure at a separate 6GW hyperscale AI campus in east Riyadh, being delivered on an early contractor involvement basis.

Saudi Arabia is targeting a role as a regional digital and AI hub under Vision 2030, an ambition that requires substantial cloud computing and power capacity.