KAUST Hosts Annual International Conference on Smart Mobility

The conference is attended by a distinguished group of academics and others
The conference is attended by a distinguished group of academics and others
TT

KAUST Hosts Annual International Conference on Smart Mobility

The conference is attended by a distinguished group of academics and others
The conference is attended by a distinguished group of academics and others

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is hosting the International Conference on Smart Mobility - IEEE (SM'23) from March 19 to 21 on the university campus.

The conference is attended by a distinguished group of academics, technologists, equipment manufacturers, transportation service providers, and city planners to discuss topics related to smart transportation systems and services.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is organizing the conference in partnership with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, the Transport General Authority, and the Royal Commission for the Holy City of Makkah and the Holy Sites.

The conference's objective is to share the most recent research, development, and publication findings of smart mobility systems and services, as well as to discuss their possible applications and challenging difficulties.

KAUST President Professor Tony Chan stated that "smart mobility" has become a field for innovative science and research applications, particularly since most cities worldwide are searching for sustainable solutions to mobility issues.

The conference is an excellent opportunity to bring together academics, government officials, the business sector, and startups to unify efforts and develop solutions, he said.



Salesforce Gains as Software Firm Bets on AI Tools to Power Growth

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Salesforce Gains as Software Firm Bets on AI Tools to Power Growth

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares of Salesforce gained more than 5% on Thursday as investors cheered the customer relationship management software maker's upbeat quarterly results and its artificial intelligence push to drive growth.

The company has been heavily investing to integrate its AI technologies into existing products, such as its messaging platform Slack, to enhance their capabilities and attract more customers.

"We continue to see Salesforce as an under-appreciated AI winner as its differentiated data and early success in creating/deploying GenAI agents," Reuters quoted Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan as saying.

Wall Street was concerned that tempered cloud spending would affect Salesforce in a tough economy, but the software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm reported better-than-expected revenue, profit and margins in the second quarter.

Salesforce also raised its profit forecast for the year ending January 2025, as margins continue to expand, thanks to its restructuring efforts last year.

The stock is trading at 24.49 times that of Wall Street's profit expectations, compared with 52.11 for SaaS peer ServiceNow and cloud contact center firm Five9's 13.30.

Salesforce is set to add $14 billion to its market capitalization if premarket gains hold. The company's valuation stood at $248 billion as of Wednesday's close.

"We think these results alone are not good enough to drive a sustainable rally from here. For that, we need more catalysts, which could come with the new AI solutions," which are set to be showcased at its event Dreamforce and launched in October, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow said.

Some analysts believe that sustained growth in the coming quarters can come through customer support platform Agentforce, which is not yet commercially available.