HUMAIN and DataVolt Sign Nebius for 50 MW at NEOM's Oxagon

October 23, 2026 · Cortex Solutions

HUMAIN and DataVolt signed a preliminary deal making Nebius anchor customer for up to 50 MW at NEOM's Oxagon AI campus, with phased operations from Q4 2027.

HUMAIN, the company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and DataVolt have announced a preliminary framework agreement with AI cloud company Nebius. The agreement allocates capacity at the AI data center campus planned for Oxagon, NEOM's industrial city on the Red Sea coast. SaudiGulf Projects reported on October 21, 2026 that the agreement was signed on the sidelines of NVIDIA's GTC Berlin conference. Mubasher carried the news on October 22, 2026, noting that the official statement had been issued the day before.

What does the agreement include?

According to the sources we reviewed, the main points are:

• Nebius would be the anchor customer of the planned campus, with an allocation of up to 50 MW.
• That is half of the first 100 MW currently under construction, which is part of a first phase planned to reach 360 MW in total.
• Capacity is expected to come online in phases starting in Q4 2027.
• Nebius is expected to deploy NVIDIA-powered computing infrastructure to support its AI cloud services.

Telecompaper, reporting on October 22, described the agreement as "preliminary". SaudiGulf Projects explained that the capacity allocation is still subject to the terms of the framework agreement and to further steps needed to complete it. In other words, it is not yet a final contract, and neither its financial value nor its commercial details have been disclosed.

What did the executives say?

The sources quoted several leaders from the companies involved. Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN, called advancing the commercial relationship with Nebius, as the company's first customer, an important milestone and a step toward securing international demand for HUMAIN's AI infrastructure. DataVolt CEO Rajit Nanda said the progress reflects the company's focus on execution and on delivering competitive infrastructure costs. Eng. Aiman Al-Mudaifer, Managing Director and CEO of NEOM, said the agreement reflects growing global demand for AI-ready infrastructure.

Why does it matter?

The news matters because it moves Saudi data center projects from announcing ambitions to attracting real customers. Having an international, Nasdaq-listed cloud company as the anchor customer means some of the capacity being built in the Kingdom could be used to deliver AI computing services to customers inside and outside Saudi Arabia.

It also comes during a global race for the power and chips needed to train and run large models. Data centers of this kind depend on available power, land and international connectivity, which projects like Oxagon aim to provide.

Still, the news should be read realistically. The agreement is preliminary, operations will not begin before Q4 2027, and the financial details have not been disclosed. Its direct effect on the market will therefore appear gradually, not immediately.

What does it mean for Saudi businesses?

For business owners in the Kingdom, the news carries several practical messages:

• AI infrastructure is moving closer: more data centers inside the Kingdom may give businesses more options for hosting data and running AI applications locally, which matters for sectors that care where their data is stored.
• Preparation starts now: companies that organize their data and internal systems today will be better placed to use AI services once they are closer and easier to reach.
• The value is in applications, not hardware: most businesses will not need to rent megawatts. What they need are practical solutions built on this infrastructure, such as customer service automation, sales analysis and smart assistants inside everyday systems.
• Opportunities for tech firms and local suppliers: projects of this size usually need services, software and specialized skills, which may create new demand for Saudi talent in data, cloud and AI.
• Watch, but do not wait: since the agreement is preliminary and operations start in 2027, a gradual digital transformation plan is better than waiting for a specific date.

At Cortex Solutions, we help Saudi companies turn developments like this into practical steps through AI business automation and custom-built systems. Learn about our services: https://cortex.sa/services/ai-automation

Sources: SaudiGulf Projects (October 21, 2026), Mubasher (October 22, 2026) and Telecompaper (October 22, 2026).