Happy Tuesday everyone!

As President Donald Trump kicks off his Middle East tour, Saudi Arabia has made a bold play in the global AI race. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched HUMAIN, a new Public Investment Fund-backed company that will invest across the entire AI value chain—streamlining data centers, accelerating tech adoption, and supplying cutting-edge tools.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has been invited to a high-profile U.S.-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh alongside other top American CEOs—but it remains unclear whether he’ll attend. And in media earnings, Saudi Arabia’s MBC Group reported a 117% year-on-year profit surge in Q1, powered by Ramadan viewership and booming ad revenues.

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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Launches HUMAIN to Power Nation’s Bold AI Push

📰 What’s It About:

• Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince has launched HUMAIN, a PIF-owned company that will invest across the full artificial intelligence value chain.

• HUMAIN is set to deliver cutting-edge AI services, next-gen data centers, Arabic large language models (LLMs), and cloud infrastructure.

• The company will act as a national champion, offering advanced AI tools across sectors and anchoring Saudi Arabia’s ambitions in the global tech arena.

🔍 Why It Matters:

• The move positions Saudi Arabia as a regional leader in AI, with ambitions to shape global standards and capabilities.

• HUMAIN will accelerate the Kingdom’s push toward economic diversification, innovation, and a knowledge-based digital economy.

• It also reinforces Saudi’s role in the Arabic AI space, creating one of the world’s most powerful multimodal Arabic LLMs.

• Sectors like energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and finance stand to benefit from rapid AI integration.

🔮 What’s Next:

• HUMAIN will lead investments in AI infrastructure, hardware, and R&D, helping build a globally competitive Saudi AI ecosystem.

• It will serve as a regional AI hub and attract top global talent and partnerships, driving IP creation and digital transformation.

• With PIF’s backing, Saudi Arabia is doubling down on its vision to become a central player in the future of artificial intelligence.

ODEUM – A Cutting-Edge Content Studio for All Your Production and Social Media Management Needs

📰 What is it about?

• Odeum, the content studio built for modern media consumption, partnering with brands to deliver tailored content services while also creating original productions under the Augustus Media network.

💡 Why Choose ODEUM?

At ODEUM, we provide end-to-end media solutions to elevate your brand across multiple platforms.

• Video: Distribution, post-production, production, live streaming, series and show creation, animation, branded content, AI-powered video creation, CGI video creation.

• Social Media: Account takeovers, strategic posts, tactical competitions.

• Copywriting: Branded content hubs, sponsored articles.

• Events: Media partnerships, co-branding, guest list curation, ticket commerce.

• Audio: Podcast production, hosting, voiceovers, audio ads.

• Online Advertising: Programmatic, display, paid social, affiliate marketing.

🔜What’s next?

• Have a project in mind? Let's make it happen!

• Book a studio or discuss your next big idea with us today.

Follow ODEUM on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.

Markets

Elon Musk Invited to Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh Amid Warming Ties

🔹 What Is It About:

• Elon Musk has been invited to attend a high-profile Saudi-U.S. investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East visit, according to a planning note seen by Reuters.

• The event is expected to feature major economic announcements and a lineup of top American CEOs including leaders from Blackrock, Citigroup, IBM, Boeing, Delta, American, and United Airlines.

• Musk’s presence marks a significant moment following Tesla’s April 2025 entry into the Saudi market, signaling improved relations with the kingdom.

🔹 Why It Matters:

• The forum underscores deepening U.S.-Saudi economic cooperation, particularly amid Trump’s push for the kingdom to invest $1 trillion in the U.S. economy over four years.

• A massive U.S. arms package reportedly worth over $100 billion is also on the table, further tying defense and business interests.

• The event highlights the reconciliation between Musk and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), ending a years-long rift dating back to Tesla’s 2018 go-private saga.

🔹 What’s Next:

• Musk’s appearance is expected to bolster Tesla’s strategic positioning in the Gulf, following its recent market debut in the kingdom.

• The Riyadh forum may lay the groundwork for broader tech and industrial collaborations between U.S. companies and Saudi Arabia.

• With Musk now holding a key role in the Trump administration, his ties with Riyadh could signal new economic and geopolitical alignments.

Saudi: MBC Group Achieves $70.26mln Profits Amid Solid Revenue Growth in Q1-25

🔹 What Is It About:

• MBC Group recorded net profits of SAR 263.51 million ($70.26 million) in Q1 2025, reflecting a 117.27% increase year-on-year.

• Compared to Q4 2024, profits also rose 50.05% from SAR 175.61 million.

• The media giant’s revenues surged to SAR 2.04 billion, up 65.39% from SAR 1.23 billion in Q1 2024.

• Earnings per share (EPS) grew to SAR 0.70, nearly doubling from SAR 0.33 the year before.

🔹 Why It Matters:

• The performance highlights MBC’s continued dominance in the Middle East’s media sector, driven by strong Ramadan viewership and advertising momentum.

• These gains reinforce investor confidence following a stellar 2024, when annual profits soared 2,327% year-on-year.

• The numbers also reflect the group’s success in scaling content strategy and revenue streams.

🔹 What’s Next:

• CEO Mike Sneesby emphasized a focus on long-term, sustainable growth by investing in premium content and AI-driven operations.

• MBC aims to deepen audience engagement and operational efficiency, while maintaining transparent investor relations.

• Future plans will prioritize scalable innovation and regional leadership in a competitive media landscape.

🔍From Smashi Business’ Desk

• UAE Billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor Welcomes President Trump’s Gulf Visit.

• ‘China is catching up’: HH Sheikh Tahnoon Meets White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks.

🔍In other news…

• UAE signs agreements worth more than $5 billion with Kazakhstan, minister says.

• US considering Qatar offer of plane, not worried about payback, White House says.

• Palestinian president lifts ban on operations of Qatar's Al Jazeera TV inside Palestinian territory.

• Prince Alwaleed’s Flynas seeks $1.1bn in Saudi IPO.

• NMC’s BR Shetty fails to overturn $33m DIFC court ruling.

• China to build large solar power plant in Kuwait.

• Dubai’s Talabat makes Q1 net profit of $103mln, beats estimate.

• OpenAI’s Stargate project reportedly struggling to get off the ground, thanks to tariffs.

• Egypt clears $1.2bn in dues to foreign oil companies.

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