Luma AI Secures Mega-Round to Build the Future of AI in Saudi Arabia

Frontier AI startup Luma AI has closed a massive $900 million Series C, led by Saudi-based HUMAIN, an AI firm backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The deal is inextricably linked to the construction of a 2-gigawatt AI supercluster, making the funding a critical infrastructure play in the global race for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

The Deal: Capital Meets Compute

On November 19, 2025, Palo Alto-headquartered Luma AI announced one of the largest Series C rounds in history, valued at $900 million, pushing the company's valuation to over $4 billion.

• Lead Investor: The round was led by HUMAIN, a Saudi-based PIF company focused on full-stack AI solutions.
• Other Investors: The raise saw significant participation from AMD Ventures and continued support from existing backers, including Andreessen Horowitz and Matrix Partners.

However, the investment’s true significance lies in the strategic partnership with the lead investor: the capital is fundamentally tied to infrastructure. Luma AI will become a primary customer of Project Halo, a colossal 2-gigawatt AI supercluster being constructed by HUMAIN in Saudi Arabia. This is set to be one of the world's largest AI compute build-outs.

The Mission: Building "World Models"

Luma AI is not developing just another large language model (LLM). Its core mission is to build Multimodal Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), specifically focusing on "World Models."

• What are World Models? These are next-generation AI systems that learn from a diverse range of data—including video, audio, language, and images—to generate, understand, and simulate reality. This goes far beyond the capabilities of text-based LLMs like ChatGPT.
• The Data Requirement: CEO Amit Jain stated that achieving this requires training on data equivalent to a quadrillion tokens—1,000 to 10,000 times more information than current frontier LLMs. The 2-gigawatt supercluster is the necessary infrastructure to handle this unprecedented scale.
• Flagship Product: Luma AI is already known for its flagship generative video and imaging platform, Dream Machine, which creates ultra-realistic, photorealistic video from simple text prompts.

The MENA Strategy: A Full-Stack AI Value Chain

For Saudi Arabia, this investment is a critical component of a national strategy to build a complete AI ecosystem:

• Sovereign Compute: Project Halo secures the immense computational power needed for cutting-edge AI research, ensuring the Kingdom can train advanced models domestically.
• Arabic Alignment: The partnership includes HUMAIN Create, an initiative focused on developing sovereign AI models tailored for the Arabic world, ensuring cultural context, linguistic diversity, and regional security for enterprises and governments across MENA.
• Full Value Chain: As HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin stated, the goal is not just funding the next wave of AI, but "building the full value chain that makes it possible," from raw computing power to application deployment.

Global Implications: Beyond Hollywood

The new funding will accelerate Luma AI's expansion beyond its current stronghold in entertainment and advertising (where its models are already embedded in platforms like Adobe) into high-value, complex fields:

1. Simulation & Robotics: Using World Models to accurately simulate physical reality is essential for training autonomous robotics.
2. Design & Education: Creating realistic, interactive models and environments for personalized learning and product design.
3. Global Scale: Luma AI has already announced its first major international office in London, marking the beginning of a strategic expansion across EMEA to utilize the new compute capacity globally.

This $900 million deal confirms the Middle East's role as a major financial and infrastructural power broker in the race for true AGI.

The following video discusses the Luma AI funding and its strategic importance, featuring an interview with CEO Amit Jain:Luma AI Raises $900 Million: CEO Amit Jain on Project Halo, Multimodal AGI & India Expansion