NEWS

Together AI Signs a $5 Billion Saudi Data Center Deal as US Backlash Mounts

An AI data center under construction in a desert landscape with power lines stretching to the horizon
Together AI is building its largest new capacity in Saudi Arabia rather than the United States. Source: The New York Times
TLDR

The backlash against AI data centers in the United States now has a destination. Together AI, the San Francisco cloud platform that runs open-source models for enterprises, is building its single largest block of new capacity in Saudi Arabia, and its chief executive says the reason is that American communities are closing the door.

Together AI and HUMAIN commit to a 250 megawatt build in Saudi Arabia

Together AI has agreed to build a 250 megawatt data center in the kingdom with HUMAIN, the artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The partnership, announced at the LEAP technology conference, connects HUMAIN's compute capacity with Together AI's platform and developer ecosystem, and will host both training and inference workloads inside Saudi data centers.

The scale is the headline. The two companies project more than $5 billion in gross annualized revenue in the first year, and the new capacity nearly triples what Together AI can currently offer its customers. Saudi Arabia's cheap and abundant power, along with a geographic position that puts European, Middle Eastern, and African users within low-latency range, is the stated foundation for the deal.

Bar chart showing Together AI's compute capacity indexed at 100 before the deal and roughly 290 after the 250 megawatt Saudi build, a near tripling
One Gulf data center nearly triples the startup's compute base. Source: Santage analysis of Together AI and HUMAIN partnership announcement, LEAP, August 2026.

For customers, the arrangement means they can keep using Together AI's tools while their workloads physically run on Saudi infrastructure. For Together AI, it converts a supply constraint at home into a growth engine abroad.

Local communities don't want data centers in their backyards, and there are a lot of cancellations and moratoriums, so U.S. capacity is becoming even more constrained.
Vipul Ved Prakash, Co-Founder and CEO, Together AI

Why a US startup is building its largest capacity abroad

That constraint has been building in public for months, from the grid fights in Texas to fresh moratoriums and a governor in Pennsylvania recasting once-welcome projects as predatory. Where American localities are slamming the door, Gulf states with sovereign capital and spare gigawatts are holding it open, and the compute is following the invitation. Prakash expects more international capacity to be built than domestic capacity from here.

The Saudi deal at a glance
More than $5 billionprojected gross annualized revenue in the first year
250 megawattsthe capacity of the planned data center in Saudi Arabia
Nearly triplesTogether AI's total compute capacity
HUMAINthe partner, owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund
Europe, Middle East, Africathe regions the location serves with low latency
LEAP conferencewhere the partnership was announced, August 2026
Source: Together AI and HUMAIN partnership announcement and CEO interview, August 2026.
In short: Together AI and Saudi state-backed HUMAIN announced a 250 megawatt data center projected to clear $5 billion in first-year revenue and nearly triple Together AI's compute, and the CEO tied the offshore build directly to US community opposition and moratoriums.

The deal reads as a small data point with a large trajectory. The AI industry has spent two years insisting that American compute leadership is a national priority, yet the economics of power and permitting are quietly relocating a piece of that leadership to Riyadh, one 250 megawatt campus at a time.

Quick quiz
Why is Together AI building its largest new capacity in Saudi Arabia?

Santage is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This article is produced in accordance with Santage's Editorial Standards and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Financial figures are drawn from the companies' announcement and reporting at the time of writing and may change. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.