Hajra Naz
Saudi Arabia is making headlines with the launch of Allam. It is a groundbreaking Arabic-language AI model, built entirely in the Kingdom.
Allam was developed by HUMAIN, a national AI company backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The project shows Saudi Arabia’s fast digital growth and its Vision 2030 goals.
Unlike many AI models that focus on English, Allam was built for Arabic. It covers classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, and regional dialects like Saudi, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese. This makes Saudi Arabia a global creator, not just a consumer of AI.
An Innovation Born in Saudi Arabia
HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin revealed that the model, developed by a team of 40 PhD-level researchers in the Kingdom, will debut by the end of August. The project was trained on proprietary, in-kingdom datasets that will never be released to the public internet, giving it unparalleled cultural depth, accuracy, and trust compared to global AI models.
Amin emphasized:
“This is not just another large language model. It’s proof that the Arab world can innovate, train, and deploy AI at a world-class level, according to our own standards.”
HUMAIN Chat: AI for the Arab World
The first public release of Allam will be through HUMAIN Chat, a free application similar to ChatGPT but tailored for Arabic users. HUMAIN Chat not only masters formal Arabic but also speaks naturally in regional dialects, making it far more relatable and useful for everyday users.
The system has already been tested in sensitive use cases, such as Sawtak, a legal tool for transcribing court proceedings in Saudi Arabia, proving its capability for high-stakes applications.
Building Responsible and Culturally Aligned AI
From inception, Allam has been guided by responsible AI principles. Its safeguards ensure outputs remain aligned with cultural, social, and political norms of the Arab world.
Amin explains this approach:
“This isn’t about censorship. It’s about relevance and trust. A model is like a child: it needs guidance, education, and refinement to become a responsible adult.”
By embedding cultural intelligence into the system, HUMAIN ensures that Allam can serve users with respect for local traditions and values, a feature often missing in Western-centric AI models.
World-Class Infrastructure with Groq Partnership
Behind Allam lies one of the fastest and most efficient AI infrastructures in the world. HUMAIN recently partnered with Silicon Valley startup Groq, known for its ultra-fast, energy-efficient AI inference technology.
In just six days, HUMAIN deployed 19,000 Groq Language Processing Units (LPUs) in Dammam, cutting inference costs by nearly 60% compared to global providers. This setup makes Saudi Arabia one of the few nations hosting cutting-edge AI infrastructure on its soil, serving users across more than 130 countries.
Through this collaboration, HUMAIN has also made OpenAI’s latest open-source models—gpt-oss-120B and gpt-oss-20B—available in Saudi Arabia on day one of release, a first for the region.
Expanding the AI Ecosystem: HUMAIN One and AI Computers
While Allam is the flagship project, HUMAIN is also preparing to launch HUMAIN One in October—a reinvention of the enterprise operating system. Instead of managing dozens of applications, enterprises will use a unified AI-driven interface capable of executing complex tasks seamlessly.
Early pilots have already shown massive productivity gains, such as reducing payroll processing time from 30 staff-hours to just 30 minutes.
Additionally, HUMAIN is developing an AI-enabled computer in partnership with Qualcomm. Designed entirely in Saudi Arabia, it combines CPU, GPU, and NPU capabilities for advanced local AI processing. The device will debut at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh this October, followed by a global release.
A $350 Million Arabic AI Opportunity
Arabic is spoken by more than 350 million people worldwide, yet Arabic remains vastly underrepresented in global AI models. Even when included, dialect coverage and cultural context are often lacking.
By prioritizing Arabic-first development, HUMAIN aims to serve government agencies, tourism, healthcare, and private-sector businesses that rely heavily on the language. Allam also provides an opportunity for the Arab world to shift from being technology consumers to becoming global producers of AI platforms and products.
Aligning with Saudi Vision 2030
Every initiative HUMAIN undertakes—from Allam to Groq-powered infrastructure, to HUMAIN One—is tightly aligned with Saudi Vision 2030. Artificial intelligence is seen as a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s economic diversification and digital leadership.
Amin praised Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in shaping AI strategy:
“The Crown Prince treats AI not as an optional tool but as a necessity for economic growth, citizen empowerment, and sector-wide adoption. His vision is both pragmatic and forward-looking.”
Investing in Local AI Talent
The foundation of HUMAIN’s success is Saudi talent. The 40 PhD researchers behind Allam stand as proof that the Kingdom and the Middle East have the expertise to build world-class AI technologies.
Amin summed it up simply:
“Some doubted whether we had the capabilities. I told them: come and see for yourself.”
Conclusion: A New Era for AI in the Arab World
With Allam, HUMAIN has not just built an AI model—it has launched a movement. By focusing on Arabic, cultural alignment, and sovereign AI infrastructure, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a global leader in responsible and innovative artificial intelligence.
As the Arab world begins to see AI not just as imported technology but as a homegrown strength, Allam may well mark the beginning of a new digital era for the region.
