The US software company said the programme, announced at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh on Monday, is valued at more than $4 billion and will provide eligible people aged 13 and above with 12 months of Adobe Firefly Standard and Adobe Express Premium features.
Access is due to become available by the end of 2026. The package will include HUMAIN Image 1, a jointly developed image-generation model designed to produce culturally aligned imagery from Arabic-language prompts and reflect Saudi visual references and context.
Adobe said HUMAIN Image 1 is being developed through Adobe Firefly Foundry and will be available inside Firefly and Adobe Express. The model will be the first image-generation system created with Firefly Foundry specifically tuned to Saudi culture, according to the company and Saudi authorities.
The expanded arrangement also introduces Modern Standard Arabic right-to-left support for Adobe Express on desktop, web and iOS. Adobe said the feature covers typography, text editing and interface controls, alongside a collection of templates designed for Saudi users.
Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdullah Alswaha said the partnership was intended to broaden access to advanced AI tools, develop culturally relevant technology and equip people and entrepreneurs with skills to participate in the country’s growing digital and creative sectors.
Adobe chairman and chief executive Shantanu Narayen said the combination of Adobe’s creative products, the ministry’s local expertise and HUMAIN’s regional knowledge would allow individuals, businesses and students to use AI tools tailored more closely to local culture and language.
HUMAIN chief executive Tareq Amin said the collaboration was aimed at making generative AI more sensitive to the context in which it operates. The Saudi-backed company is contributing regional and cultural knowledge to the model while Adobe supplies its creative technology and Firefly infrastructure.
Eligible users will need to register for the National Access Programme before the offer is activated. Adobe’s Saudi product information says the package includes 2,000 generative credits a month and 100GB of cloud storage, with HUMAIN Image 1 accessible through the normal Firefly model-selection process once launched.
The model will support Arabic input, while Adobe says prompts will be processed to generate imagery grounded in Saudi culture and context. Outside Saudi Arabia, HUMAIN Image 1 is expected to remain available as a partner model, with broader prominence for Arabic-speaking users.
The initiative extends a partnership announced last year between Adobe and HUMAIN to develop AI systems better suited to Arabic-language content and Middle Eastern users. HUMAIN is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and was established as part of the kingdom’s drive to build domestic AI infrastructure, models and applications.
For Adobe, the mass-access programme also creates a potentially large new user base for Firefly and Express at a time when generative AI is reshaping the design-software market. Established software companies are competing with specialist AI platforms offering increasingly capable image, video and design-generation services.
Adobe has sought to distinguish Firefly through integration with its established creative applications and through models designed for commercial workflows. The Saudi programme places cultural localisation and Arabic support at the centre of that strategy rather than offering a standard global product unchanged.
The partnership will also extend to start-ups and early-stage entrepreneurs participating in the ministry’s Center of Digital Entrepreneurship and The Garage. Adobe said qualifying participants will receive one year of access to selected creative tools, expertise and training from early 2027.
Training will also be provided through the Adobe Digital Academy, adding a skills component to the free-access initiative. The programme is intended to support people using AI tools for design, digital content, presentations and other creative work.
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