Saudi-US forum seals billions, deepens tech and energy ties
High-level meetings deliver sweeping investment deals as both nations expand cooperation in AI, energy, and critical minerals
WASHINGTON (MNTV) — A surge of multibillion-dollar private-sector deals was announced at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., reflecting renewed commercial momentum between the two countries.
The commitments, spanning technology, energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing, followed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s high-profile White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Held at the Kennedy Center and hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment under the theme “Leadership for Growth: Strengthening the Saudi-US Economic Partnership,” the forum brought together top officials, global investors, and CEOs from leading American firms.
The event moved rapidly to operationalize high-level government agreements announced a day earlier at the White House and during a state gala.
Addressing participants, the crown prince said the foundations for an expanded strategic partnership had been firmly set, with additional investment agreements across AI, defense, energy, and financial services expected to follow.
President Trump, speaking moments later, said that $270 billion in commercial agreements and sales were being signed across dozens of companies, praising the crown prince as a decisive leader committed to strengthening bilateral ties.
Trump also signaled a new U.S. engagement in Sudan after the crown prince urged him to help stop the conflict, saying he would begin “working on Sudan” despite not having planned earlier to intervene.
Opening the forum, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih announced that the event would witness the launch of “groundbreaking business agreements worth hundreds of billions of dollars,” building on the strategic accords concluded at the White House.
He emphasized that the U.S. remains the largest foreign investor in Saudi Arabia, accounting for “one out of every four dollars invested by international partners in the Kingdom.”
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the newly finalized agreements “open the door for U.S. companies to lead globally in innovation, in safety, and in deployment,” highlighting the deepening alignment between American technology capabilities and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 investment priorities.
The centerpiece of the forum was the formal signing of the Strategic Artificial Intelligence Partnership between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Both sides described the agreement as historic, positioning Saudi Arabia as a hub for global AI development by leveraging its land availability, energy resources, and strategic geography.
The partnership covers advanced semiconductor supply, AI application development, digital infrastructure, workforce training, and large-scale investment flows.
Private companies swiftly followed with major ventures. AMD, Cisco Systems, and Saudi startup Humain announced a joint initiative to construct large-scale data centers across the Middle East, beginning with a 100-megawatt facility in Saudi Arabia scheduled for 2026 and powered entirely by renewable energy.
Humain CEO Tareq Amin said the generative-video company Luma AI has already contracted for the full capacity of the initial cluster, part of a broader plan to build up to one gigawatt of new data center capacity by 2030 to serve markets spanning Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, and Africa.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also participated in AI discussions, with Musk confirming that his AI venture, xAI, is working with Saudi Arabia on a 500-megawatt Nvidia-powered project.
On the sidelines, Qualcomm’s Middle East and Africa president, Wassim Chourbaji, described the investment environment as “super positive,” announcing new initiatives including an AI engineering center co-located with Humain, a creative-content partnership with Adobe, and expanded development of advanced AI chips in Saudi Arabia.
The energy sector, long the foundation of the bilateral relationship, was also in focus. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said Saudi Arabia would sign $30 billion in new energy agreements with U.S. partners. In parallel, a major initiative was unveiled to secure critical mineral supply chains.
MP Materials — operator of the only U.S. rare earths mine — is partnering with the U.S. Department of Defense and Saudi mining giant Maaden to build a rare earths refinery in Saudi Arabia.
The joint venture, with Maaden holding 51 percent and the U.S. side 49 percent, aims to expand regional refining of heavy and light rare earths used in fighter jets, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics.
The project is intended to help diversify global supply chains, which are currently dominated by China.
Smaller firms also used the forum to explore opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding markets for sports, entertainment, and creative industries.
Nicholas Cooper, CEO of Convergenz, said he aims to “add value” by connecting technology, lifestyle, and entertainment sectors in ways that support cultural development and empower youth.
Across sectors, business leaders described a sense of long-term opportunity driven by Saudi Arabia’s investment scale and the deepening Saudi-U.S. strategic alignment, particularly in high-value industries tied to technological transformation.
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