Saudi Arabia leads $900m raise for Hollywood lab owner Luma AI

California-based artificial generative intelligence start-up Luma AI, the parent of Hollywood-based Dream Lab LA, has secured a $900m raise led by Saudi-based Humain.

The raise was announced at Wednesday’s (November 19) US-Saudi Investment Forum and comes as Humain, backed by the PIF Saudi sovereign wealth fund, assembles its ‘Project Halo’ AI supercluster to facilitate data processing tasks.

Luma AI and Humain did not specify a precise amount. Participants in Luma AI’s Series C fund raise include AMD Ventures, and existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Amplify Partners, and Matrix Partners.

Luma AI launched Dream Lab LA in the summer. Led by Verena Puhm, an Austrian producer and writer, and creative workflow veteran Jon Finger, the creative hub was established to help Hollywood creators use AI to propel storytelling.

Luma AI’s products include Ray3, which the company says is the world’s first reasoning video model.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Donald Trump in Washington DC earlier this week, when the leaders announced that Saudi Arabia will invest close to $1bn in American sectors such as AI, clean energy, and manufacturing.

The Kingdom has been diversifying its investments away from an oil-based economy through its Vision 2030 initiative and wants to position itself as a tech leader. Culture and entertainment is also seen as a key growth area.

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