New Saudi Supercomputer Can Process World’s Largest Geophysical Datasets

Dammam 7 can process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets and is considered among the top ten most powerful in the world. (Aramco)
Dammam 7 can process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets and is considered among the top ten most powerful in the world. (Aramco)
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New Saudi Supercomputer Can Process World’s Largest Geophysical Datasets

Dammam 7 can process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets and is considered among the top ten most powerful in the world. (Aramco)
Dammam 7 can process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets and is considered among the top ten most powerful in the world. (Aramco)

Top Saudi companies launched a new supercomputer, Dammam 7, which can process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets and is considered among the top ten most powerful in the world.

Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Telecom Group (STC) announced the new high-speed computer which presents new opportunities in both exploration and development and enhances investment decisions.

Dammam 7 is the next step in Aramco’s digital transformation, including a number of advanced technologies that are reshaping major operations, increasing efficiencies, and reinforcing the company’s industry leadership in geoscience, read a statement obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat.

Dammam 7 was developed at Dhahran Techno Valley in partnership with STC’s Solutions, and CRAY, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise subsidiary. It has 55.4 petaflops of peak computing power, allowing it to process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets.

It will push beyond the traditional boundaries of exploration and production through cutting edge technology, according to the statement.

“Sophisticated imaging and deep-learning algorithms will allow it to run very detailed 3D earth models, improving the Company’s ability to discover and recover oil and gas while reducing exploration and development risks,” it said.

In addition, the supercomputer will enhance decision-making for the exploration and development of conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources, as well as guide future investments in production and resource allocation.

Speaking on the occasion, Aramco President and CEO, Amin Nasser, explained that Dammam 7 is named after the first commercial oil well discovered in 1938.

He said it will help with breakthroughs as part of Aramco’s long term “Discovery and Recovery” strategy in its Upstream business.

“This technology that processes complex data faster will enable new discoveries and enhanced recoveries, which are crucial to both ensuring the availability of adequate supply to meet the demand for energy and to cut costs while boosting productivity,” he continued.

Nasser described Dammam 7 as “another step in our plan to invest in the right technology that drives production efficiency and resilience.”

CEO of STC Group CEO, Nasser al-Nasser, stated that the inauguration of the supercomputer data center in Aramco will open up new horizons in exploration, which will have a significant impact on data digitization and quality.

“These are in line with the digital transformation plans of the desired national outlook, and we are proud to have worked with locals to establish Dammam 7 Center,” he added.



Microsoft, Turning 50, Dials up Copilot Actions to Stay in AI Game

The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)
The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)
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Microsoft, Turning 50, Dials up Copilot Actions to Stay in AI Game

The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)
The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)

Thousands of people swooned in a dark conference hall that felt more like a rock concert when a Microsoft product manager demonstrated the company's latest feature: how to sum numbers in Excel, with the click of a button.

"It was literally like Mick Jagger walked out," said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer chief marketing officer, who started as an intern.

That was more than 30 years ago. On Friday, the day Microsoft turned 50, the company's leaders and staff gathered at its Redmond headquarters to remember the software maker's glory days while trumpeting what they hope will bring it into the future: more powerful artificial intelligence.

Copilot, Microsoft's AI assistant, is gaining a host of new features to make it more proactive. The version for consumers will start remembering personal facts about them. It will offer birthday reminders or support ahead of a presentation, or consumers can opt out, Mehdi said in an interview.

Copilot likewise will personalize podcasts and shopping recommendations, and it will let consumers task their AI to book events for them, or send a friend a gift while checking in for guidance. "It frees you up," said Mehdi.

Microsoft is hardly first to roll out action-taking or "agentic" software. As with rival systems, the AI will work best on popular sites where Microsoft has done some behind-the-scenes technical work, like with 1-800-Flowers.com and OpenTable, Mehdi said.

Mehdi recalled days when Microsoft was smaller and growing. He said CEO Bill Gates could devour three books' worth of information from one day to the next, at a time when the co-founder still worked on Microsoft software. Mehdi watched Steve Ballmer, Gates' eventual successor, chant "developers, developers, developers!" in a sweat-drenched shirt to rouse a crowd into the ".net" era.

Microsoft went from top of the pack to badly bruised in a high-profile lawsuit that US antitrust enforcers brought against it in 1998. Years later, younger companies and startups, among them Alphabet and ChatGPT creator OpenAI, beat it to the punch on key AI developments.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft's current CEO, is not standing still. The leader who turned Microsoft into the No. 2 cloud powerhouse challenged his executives at an internal summit this week, recalled Mehdi: "How do we rethink the way that we build the software?"

Microsoft is iterating on its chatbot technology in a crowded field that includes Elon Musk's xAI and Anthropic. It has added Copilot to its heavily used productivity suites for business while giving consumers a distinctive version.

"It's warm; it has that personality," said Mehdi. Some users have taken to this, while others find it asks too many questions, he said.

"When we get to now be more personalized, we can start to get smarter," Mehdi said. "We're part way through that journey."