Saudi Arabia Recovers Citizen Account Program on Twitter after Hack

The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)
The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia Recovers Citizen Account Program on Twitter after Hack

The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)
The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)

The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was hacked Tuesday morning, but technicians were able to recover it.

Official spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Development Khalid Aba al-Khail confirmed the recovery of the Twitter account in a short period of time, pointing out that dealing with hackers, who follow foreign parties, is conducted according to official channels.

In addition, he announced the names of families eligible to receive the second monthly installment of the Citizen’s Account Program, noting that the next monthly installment will be transferred to registered beneficiaries on January 10.

In December, Saudi Arabia released the first installment of the Citizen’s Account Program at two billion riyals for 82 percent, or 10.6 million, of the registered beneficiaries.

The first payment to eligible Saudi citizens was released at SR300 per person or family.

Those who registered before November 9 will be included in the first phase of payment, those who registered between November 9 and December 16 in the second phase and those who registered after December 16 in the third phase.

The Citizen’s Account is a national cash-transfer program aimed at protecting Saudi families from the direct and indirect impact of the government’s structural economic reforms through direct monetary allowances.

The account announced Tuesday that in order to facilitate the process for the beneficiaries, it will exempt the objectors to the eligibility results from attaching documents.

The program allowed the beneficiaries to object to the non-eligibility of the subsidy within three months from the date of the issuance of the eligibility decision. It gave them the right to object to the amount of the subsidy deposited in the accounts of the beneficiaries after the deposit of the first installment on December 21.



Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Buys $400 Million Stake in xAI

xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Buys $400 Million Stake in xAI

xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) said on Wednesday it has acquired a key stake in xAI Corporation, an artificial intelligence company founded by US billionaire Elon Musk for 1.5 billion Saudi Riyals ($400 million), becoming the second largest investor in X and xAI.

The acquisition of the new stake is part of xAI’s Series C funding round, said KHC in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

This transaction follows KHC's previous investment at the same value in xAI during its Series B funding round.

It further solidifies KHC's strategic partnership with Elon Musk, and follows its strategic stake in X (Twitter), held since 2015, KHC stated.

A post on X said Prince Alwaleed bin Talal became the second largest shareholders in Musk’s two companies, X & xAI.

In November 2022, the Saudi prince moved almost 35 million Twitter shares through the Kingdom Holding Company, worth about $1.9 billion at the $54.20 per share sale price. That made him the “second-largest investor” in the new parent company.
Funding Rounds

The funding rounds consist of several fundraising events in which startups or existing companies raise funds from investors to continue building their infrastructure and accelerate research and development.

The rounds start with a “seed round” of funding where a startup typically raises money from the owners to cover initial operating expenses and then expand to Series A, B, and C funding rounds as the company develops to raise additional capital.

In terms of risks, Series B funding is generally less risky than Series A funding, while Series C is less risky than Series B and is typically used by companies that are growing rapidly and need additional capital to fund their expansion.

Musk's xAI Series C funding round included the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA).

Participants included Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, which were described as two of the major investors in the fundraising round.

KHC, in which Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns a 17% stake, said xAI has a $45 billion valuation with the latest funding round, indicating a significant increase from its $25 billion valuation during the Series B funding round, the filing showed.

Following the announcement of the acquisition, the shares of KHC, listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, rose by 0.44% to 9.16 riyals.

xAI’s strategy focuses on developing leading AI models and working closely with other technology companies associated with its founder, including Tesla, SpaceX, and X, whose application has over 500 million users.

KHC said this transaction further solidifies KHC's strategic partnership with Elon Musk, and follows its strategic stake in X (Twitter), held since 2015.

It forms part of KHC’s business model of securing early stakes in emerging technologies and its ambition to lead and innovate within the AI industry, it added.