Luma AI Launches Riyadh Office as Saudi Arabia’s AI Competition Heats Up

Luma AI has taken its first concrete step into the Middle East, opening a regional office in Riyadh as competition for artificial intelligence talent and projects continues to heat up in Saudi Arabia. The US-based company, known for its multimodal AI platforms that generate text, images and video, is clearly betting that the Kingdom is not just a market to watch, but one to build in.

The Riyadh office is expected to support the development of Arabic large language models and local AI solutions through the HUMAIN Create platform, in collaboration with HUMAIN, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund. In simple terms, this means working on AI systems that understand Arabic better and produce content that actually reflects the region’s culture and data, rather than relying only on models trained elsewhere.

From what has been shared, the plan also includes hiring local technical and marketing teams. The idea is to work closely with both government entities and private sector players, with a focus on producing creative content and AI-generated video tailored to the region. That’s not a small ambition. Anyone who has tried to localise global AI tools into Arabic knows it can be a bit of a faff, especially when dialects and cultural nuance come into play.

The expansion into Saudi Arabia comes amid growing interest in AI infrastructure, particularly as the “Halo” project advances. Halo aims to build a high-performance computing infrastructure capable of training and operating large-scale AI models inside the Kingdom. That kind of domestic compute power is increasingly seen as essential for countries that want more control over their digital futures.

On the commercial front, Luma AI has also announced a strategic partnership with Publicis Groupe Middle East. The French advertising giant’s regional arm will use Luma’s technology to produce advertising campaigns and marketing content for clients across the region. The move signals a push to integrate AI-generated video into mainstream creative workflows, potentially streamlining production and cutting turnaround times. Whether this will reshape agency economics overnight is another question, but it is definately a sign of where things are heading.

Across MENA, there’s a clear shift under way. More governments and companies want Arabic-first AI tools, built with local frameworks and sensitivities in mind. And believe it or not, this conversation is no longer theoretical. It’s happening in boardrooms, accelerators and startup hubs from Riyadh to Dubai.

At Arageek, we often meet founders who dream of building global tech from the region rather than importing it. I still remember a young startup team telling me how hard it was to get their Arabic dataset taken seriously by overseas investors. Moments like that make moves like Luma’s feel significant. I reckon having serious AI players set up shop in Riyadh could help tip the balance, even if challenges around talent and regulation remain.

Luma AI says its permanent presence in the Saudi capital will help it build a broader partnership ecosystem and support promising talent across the Kingdom and the wider region. On the flip side, success will depend on how well it navigates local expectations and delivers tools that are not just flashy, but truly useful.

One thing is clear: the race to anchor advanced AI in the Middle East is well under way. And Riyadh, it seems, wants to be right at the heart of it.

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