Hiomane contracts move Saudi AI computing from deals to tests, as MIS expands its data center to 250 MW in Sep 2026 and orders top 135 % of 2025 revenue

When the Public Investment Fund launched the company "Hiomane" in May 2025 to develop an integrated national AI system, attention focused on billions of investment commitments and expansion promises. Today, that roadmap has begun to materialize in concrete and generators; projects have moved from framework agreements to actual execution contracts and direct construction and operational work at infrastructure sites.

We followed how this shift was reflected directly in financial market disclosures; on 20 September 2026, Al-Muammar Information Systems "MIS" announced that the scope of the AI data-center project with "Hiomane" had been increased from 50 to 250 MW, with a contract value exceeding 689 % of Al-Muammar’s total 2025 revenue, VAT included. In October, four executive work orders were received, each subsequent order exceeding 135 % of the company’s 2025 revenue. On the same track, on 31 August 2026 construction began in cooperation with Data Volt to develop 100 MW as part of the first phase of the data-center complex in Oxagon Beniumm, targeting a total capacity of 360 MW.

Investment in AI goes beyond purchasing processors to a heavy engineering sector governed by cooling networks and power stations.In parallel with the hardware momentum, local digital products emerged with the launch of the "Hiomane Chat" platform powered by the Arabic language model "Allam 34B", linking computing capabilities to direct user applications.

The localization of computing becomes paramount amid regional tensions and geopolitical risks that threaten submarine communication cables in the Strait of Hormuz and international shipping lanes. Within this context, Ahmed bin Muhammad Al-Suwyan, the governor of the Digital Government Authority, outlined five integrated levels to strengthen digital resilience, including diversifying international cable routes, varying satellite, terrestrial and wireless communication networks, broadening technologies, diversifying operators, and ensuring the readiness of backup data centers and national cloud solutions. Hosting data and services locally provides a fence that protects financial activities and government services from disruption, especially as the kingdom has not experienced a complete internet outage since its introduction in the mid-1990s.

The project compass in the Gulf and the region has shifted from purchasing off-the-shelf software to qualifying infrastructure and national supply chains.This shift compels tech leaders and contractors in the Middle East to redirect their investments; the practical bet requires securing high electric power capacity, mastering data-center cooling engineering, and meeting local content requirements in large contracts. Expanding sovereign infrastructure for banks and regional institutions also creates an opportunity to process their sensitive data with locally-made Arabic models, avoiding the risks of exposure to external clouds.

Nevertheless, increasing capacity in megawatts does not automatically guarantee profitability; Hiomane projects are subject to five operational and economic tests to measure return: financial viability through processor utilization rates, operating margins and cash flows; maximising local content by qualifying suppliers and localising technical talent; transferring knowledge and intellectual property via research-and-development partnerships; improving electricity and cooling efficiency to lower operating costs; and measuring the actual productive impact in the energy, mining and manufacturing sectors. The final strategic value is not measured solely by the volume of invested capital, but by its ability to turn those capabilities into productive assets that support the sustainability of the national economy.