The New Oil of Intelligence: PIF Shifts Portfolio to “Human Capital and AI” Infrastructure

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – February 13, 2026

The New Oil of Intelligence; In a landmark recalibration of its investment strategy, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has officially unveiled its 2026–2030 roadmap, which prioritizes “Human Mind Infrastructure” and Artificial Intelligence over traditional real estate and fossil-fuel-dependent mega-projects. 

This shift marks the definitive transition of the Kingdom’s wealth into the “Intelligent Age,” where human talent and hyperscale compute capacity are treated as the primary assets of the national economy.

A Paradigm Shift in Sovereign Wealth

The $925 billion sovereign wealth fund announced today that it is reconfiguring its portfolio to place a 40% emphasis on sectors that drive the “digital and cognitive economy.” 

This includes a massive scaling back of capital-intensive construction projects, such as certain phases of “The Line” at NEOM, in favor of rapid deployment in AI data centers, biotechnology, and advanced human resource development. 

The strategy reflects a broader global realization that the wealth of nations in 2026 is measured by intellectual property and the speed of information processing rather than land or physical labor.

Central to this new direction is “HUMAIN,” the PIF-owned AI powerhouse, which has recently secured financing frameworks worth billions to expand data center capacity to 250 megawatts and beyond.

By the end of 2026, Saudi Arabia aims to have 100 gigawatts of AI compute capacity available, positioning the Kingdom as one of the world’s leading “AI Exporters.”

The “Third Path” to Global Leadership

Riyadh is carving out what officials call a “Third Path” in the global AI duel between the US and China. 

This path is defined by a capital-rich, energy-powered ecosystem that focuses on “Applied Impact” and “Human-Centric AI.” 

Unlike the consumer-driven models of the West or the state-monitored models of the East, the Saudi model focuses on integrating AI into the fabric of essential sectors: energy, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Headline points of the 2026–2030 strategy include:

The Talent Harvest: 

Over 9% of the Saudi working-age population has already attained AI credentials, part of a massive push to localize intellectual property and foster a new generation of “Mind-Workers.”

Compute-Energy Synergy: 

Leveraging its vast solar resources, Saudi Arabia is providing the massive energy required for AI workloads at a cost far lower than its global competitors, solving the “Energy Wall” that currently hinders US and European AI growth.

Global Hub status: 

Strategic partnerships with companies like NVIDIA, Google Cloud, and AMD have turned Riyadh into a primary regional hub for large language models (LLMs), specifically those optimized for the Arabic-speaking world.

Reconfiguring Mega-Projects for Utility

The decision to scale back expensive real estate developments in favor of technology is a calculated response to the new economic realities of 2026. 

While the original Vision 2030 focused on building futuristic cities, the revised 2030–2032 strategy focuses on the “Intelligence” that will inhabit and manage those cities. 

Projects like NEOM are being redirected toward renewable energy research and high-tech industrial zones, moving away from purely tourism-focused real estate.

By prioritizing minerals and industrial AI, the PIF is ensuring that Saudi Arabia remains a vital link in the global supply chain for the hardware of the future. 

The Kingdom is not only investing in the software of the mind but also in the minerals required for the semiconductors that power those minds.

Economic and Societal Impact

The shift toward “Human Mind Infrastructure” is expected to yield higher returns on investment compared to long-term real estate ventures. 

The PIF expects this strategy to double the fund’s impact on non-oil GDP by 2030. Furthermore, the focus on high-value employment is aimed at reducing unemployment to record lows by creating roles that did not exist five years ago, such as AI-ethics auditors, neural-network architects, and cognitive-logistics managers.

The Riyadh Declaration, recently updated, emphasizes that this “Great Adoption” of technology is focused on solving real-world challenges, such as cancer detection and resource management, rather than just corporate profit. 

This aligns the Kingdom with the emerging global preference for “Clean” and “Purpose-Driven” wealth.

Conclusion: Intelligence as the New Currency

The Saudi Public Investment Fund has sent a clear message to the global markets: the age of the “Oil-only” economy is buried. By shifting its vast resources into the infrastructure of the human mind and the machines that support it, Riyadh has secured its place as a cornerstone of the New World economy. 

The “New Oil” is no longer extracted from the ground; it is cultivated in the classroom and processed in hyperscale data centers.

As the PIF unveils this strategy, it sets a precedent for other sovereign wealth funds to follow, proving that in the year 2026, the most valuable infrastructure on Earth is the one that enables humanity to think, innovate, and lead.

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