Middle East’s AI Champions Are Drawing Firepower From Oil Giants

Oil giants in the Middle East are taking a more direct role in using the region’s oldest resource to finance a multibillion-dollar bet on a new one: Artificial intelligence.

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and the United Arab Emirates’ state energy company Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have ramped up work with their countries’ national AI champions, using petrodollars to meet the growing need for capital in the race to lead the technology.

The most recent example came from Riyadh, where Aramco acquired “a significant minority stake” in Humain, Saudi Arabia’s new AI firm that’s owned by the Public Investment Fund. ...