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Google Pledges to Support Business Activities in Saudi Arabia

The brand logo of Alphabet Inc's Google is seen outside its office in Beijing. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
The brand logo of Alphabet Inc's Google is seen outside its office in Beijing. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Google Pledges to Support Business Activities in Saudi Arabia

The brand logo of Alphabet Inc's Google is seen outside its office in Beijing. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
The brand logo of Alphabet Inc's Google is seen outside its office in Beijing. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

The business sector has witnessed a challenging phase during the covid-19 pandemic, and many small businesses and individuals have been affected.

Google unveiled Wednesday an initiative to hasten the economic recovery of the MENA region through digital transformation. The Grow Stronger with Google program will offer tools, training and financial grants worth more than $13 million to empower local businesses and jobseekers, with a special focus in Saudi Arabia on supporting business activities in the fields of retail, tourism, and entrepreneurship.

According to the Arab Monetary fund, around six million jobs are at risk in the Arab world, and the most available vacancies in the Kingdom require applied digital skills.

As part of its regional program, Google pledges to help more than one million people and businesses in the MENA region to learn digital skills and grow their businesses by the end of 2021. The company will provide grants from Google.org, the company's philanthropic arm, and loans worth $4 million, as well as grants and advertising credits of more than $9 million for governments and businesses.

Asharq Al-Awsat attended a special digital meeting with Lino Kataruzzi, general manager of Google in MENA, in which he explained the reasons why Google launched this project, the targeted groups, and how digital opportunities can contribute to a stronger return of people, business activities, and societies in Saudi Arabia and the region.

He stressed that digital tools have become a mean of saving many people during the crisis, and that Google helps people acquire new skills, find jobs, and enhance the presence of commercial activities on the Internet, especially those working in the areas of retail and tourism, because they are most affected by the crisis.

He also stressed that Google is optimistic about the future of the region, and has great confidence that cooperation with local partners will accelerate the pace of economic recovery by taking advantage of digital transformation.

The "Go Strong with Google" program in Saudi Arabia includes 3 main areas, which are digital and cloud skills training, business guidance and direction, and digitization of local business activities.

As for the first area, Google will ink partnerships with local authorities, such as the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (the Digital Giving Initiative), the Ministry of Tourism and Wadi Makkah, through which it will provide training on digital marketing to more than 50,000 students and commercial activities in the Kingdom, and will host digital training for technology companies.

As for the second area (mentoring and directing business activities), Google will launch the Google for Startups Accelerator program to support local entrepreneurs, so that the first group will include up to 15 startups from the region to participate in a 3-month program that provides guidance, direction and assistance from expert advisors. The company will also provide $1.1 million in grants from Google.org to Mercy Corps, the Arab Tourism Organization, and Youth Business International to direct business activities and entrepreneurs across the region.

The third area (digitizing local commercial activities in Saudi Arabia) includes the launch of the Market Finder service to help local businesses identify new markets and acquire global customers. It will also grant all retailers in Saudi Arabia, whether they are Google advertisers or not, the right to access the brand Google Shopping tab to list their products at no cost, which helps them communicate with more customers, in addition to listing 100,000 local businesses in Saudi Arabia on "My Business on Google" and providing the owners of these businesses with digital skills in partnership with Saudi Post.

The listing will also include 50,000 companies in the UAE in partnership with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Google has trained 300,000 students, handicraft artists and commercial activities on digital marketing in the region in partnership with local authorities and institutions, such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (the Digital Giving Initiative), the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia, the Nama Foundation for the Advancement of Women, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in the UAE, in addition to supporting thousands of small businesses with limited resources by providing financial loans worth $3 million in cooperation with the Kiva Foundation, a digital platform to connect lenders and borrowers around the world.

In 2018, the company announced the launch of "Skills from Google," a training program on digital skills for Arabic speakers, from which about one million Arab youth have so far benefited.

You can visit the “Go big with Google” program at grow.google-intl-mena.

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Technology

Nvidia Board Meets to Decide CEO Huang's Future as Leadership Crisis Deepens

(FILE) - NVIDIA President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the NVIDIA Constellation All-Employee Celebration in Taipei, Taiwan, 27 May 2026 (reissued on 10 November 2026). EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
(FILE) - NVIDIA President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the NVIDIA Constellation All-Employee Celebration in Taipei, Taiwan, 27 May 2026 (reissued on 10 November 2026). EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Nvidia Board Meets to Decide CEO Huang's Future as Leadership Crisis Deepens

(FILE) - NVIDIA President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the NVIDIA Constellation All-Employee Celebration in Taipei, Taiwan, 27 May 2026 (reissued on 10 November 2026). EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
(FILE) - NVIDIA President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the NVIDIA Constellation All-Employee Celebration in Taipei, Taiwan, 27 May 2026 (reissued on 10 November 2026). EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Nvidia's board is meeting to decide whether to oust CEO Jensen Huang, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the world's dominant supplier of AI chips grapples with fallout from reports of two extramarital affairs involving its longtime leader.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the board meeting, which went late into the night on Wednesday, said Reuters.

The meeting marks a sharp shift from Sunday, when Nvidia's board expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team. Under Nvidia's bylaws, Huang can be removed "with or without cause" by a majority vote of directors. Nvidia has 11 directors and considers all but Huang independent.

Nvidia's stock slid around 7% in early Frankfurt trading on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal first reported that the company was preparing to fire Huang. If those losses hold, Nvidia will have lost about $600 billion in market value since the board announced its investigation into his relationship with a businesswoman called Alice Huang alleged to be a Chinese spy.

Revelations that US intelligence was probing Alice Huang for facilitating shipments of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms set off a series of events: Wall Street began raising questions about Nvidia's governance and Jensen Huang's personal ‌conduct, while the company's ‌board launched an internal investigation and hired outside counsel. Lawmakers also began to push for tighter curbs on chip ‌exports to ⁠China.

China has denied ⁠the allegations. Reuters was not able to contact Alice Huang for comment.

"The market is starting to price Nvidia without its founder as the likely outcome, not a tail risk," said Armina Rosenberg, portfolio manager and co-founder of Minotaur Capital, which holds Nvidia shares. "Losing Jensen would be a real blow."

Bernstein and Oppenheimer both downgraded Nvidia following the latest developments and Citi cut its target.

"A leadership transition creates an overhang on the stock given his central role in strategy, product vision, customer relationships, and investor confidence," Citi analysts wrote.

NO OBVIOUS SUCCESSOR

Huang's potential departure would leave a leadership vacuum at the roughly $4 trillion chipmaker he co-founded and built over more than three decades to become the top supplier of chips at the center of the global AI boom and US-China technological rivalry.

Huang, 63, has no obvious successor and owns about 3.6% of Nvidia's stock. He also has ⁠dozens of direct reports, underscoring the tight control he maintains over the company.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Nvidia's ‌board has been working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements for Huang, citing a person familiar ‌with the situation.

Rosenberg said Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, who has held the role for more than a decade, would be the natural choice as an interim CEO, but ‌said the bigger question was who would lead Nvidia's technology roadmap longer term.

Odds on prediction market website Polymarket shifted sharply to show an 88% chance ‌that Huang would resign or be removed by the end of the year. Odds for his successor favored Ian Buck, who oversees the business that serves Nvidia's data center clients.

The leadership upheaval comes just days before investors are set to hear from the company on its financial performance and outlook, with its quarterly results due on November 17.

Earlier on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Huang had also had an extramarital affair with a company executive who reported to him. The relationship was with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of ‌healthcare, the New York Times said, citing five people who worked at the company.

When reached by phone on Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Powell, Huang said, "I don't think you should be talking to me directly." ⁠He then hung up, the New York ⁠Times reported.

Nvidia and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

MARKET FALLOUT

US stock futures sank, with Nasdaq futures down 1%. Micron fell nearly 2% and CoreWeave dropped 6% in after-hours trading. However, shares of rival chipmakers AMD and Broadcom rose 4% and 3%, respectively.

In Asia, Samsung Electronics rose about 1% while SK Hynix dipped 2%, as Nvidia partners and suppliers assess the potential ramifications of Huang's possible ouster.

Investors and analysts said while demand for Nvidia's chips would be unlikely to drop in the near term, the broader universe of companies backed by Nvidia — largely customers building data centers that will use its chips — might suffer.

"They are financing their customers. In these types of booms or bubbles, sometimes all it takes is a slowdown to shift it into the bust phase," said Nick Ferres, chief investment officer at Vantage Point Asset Management in Singapore.

INVESTIGATION WIDENS

In a memo to employees on Sunday, Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and took "full responsibility," but gave no details about the relationship.

US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Huang on Monday and the CEO told him that he did not know the woman linked to him was allegedly a spy. Huang is one of Trump's closest allies in Silicon Valley, and the relationship between the two dates to at least 2025.

Huang faces a potential congressional subpoena if he doesn't respond to a request to provide a closed-door briefing about the allegations of his affair with a woman alleged to be a Chinese spy.

Technology

Impossible Metals Says It Has Successfully Tested AI Seabed Mining Robot

Impossible Metals tested an autonomous AI robot that retrieved about 450 grams of polymetallic nodules from more than 4,000 meters deep in the Pacific Ocean in September. (AFP)
Impossible Metals tested an autonomous AI robot that retrieved about 450 grams of polymetallic nodules from more than 4,000 meters deep in the Pacific Ocean in September. (AFP)
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Impossible Metals Says It Has Successfully Tested AI Seabed Mining Robot

Impossible Metals tested an autonomous AI robot that retrieved about 450 grams of polymetallic nodules from more than 4,000 meters deep in the Pacific Ocean in September. (AFP)
Impossible Metals tested an autonomous AI robot that retrieved about 450 grams of polymetallic nodules from more than 4,000 meters deep in the Pacific Ocean in September. (AFP)

Deep-sea mining firm Impossible Metals said on Monday it has successfully tested an autonomous robot that uses AI to selectively retrieve critical minerals at depths of more than 4,000 meters in the ‌Pacific Ocean.

Parts of the ocean seabed contain potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with copper, nickel and other minerals used in electric vehicles and electronics, reported Reuters.

Many companies in the nascent industry plan to use a vacuum-like device to retrieve those nodules, sparking controversy from environmentalists.

Impossible Metals, which is ⁠backed by Y Combinator, has developed a robot with a large claw that it says uses artificial intelligence to avoid aquatic life and reduce environmental impacts.

The test was part of a scientific expedition in September.

The robot directed itself to the seabed, retrieved about 450 grams of nodules and then returned to the surface.

Results from the test will be used to develop a larger version of the robot. The company still needs regulatory approval from the International Seabed Authority or the US government.

Separately, Impossible Metals said that the family of FedEx founder Fred Smith had participated in the company's Series A funding round, which closed earlier this year.

The company declined to provide the value of the round, but media reports put it near $25 million, ⁠an amount that values the company at roughly $110 million.

Richard Smith, a FedEx executive and vice chairman of FWS Enterprises, the Smith family office, said it was Impossible's technology that ⁠drew him in.

“It very responsibly, in an ecologically friendly way, goes down there and plucks these nodules off the seabed floor without disturbing the environment,” ⁠said Smith, who declined to provide the value of the investment but said it was “substantial.”

The Smith family is now Impossible's second-largest shareholder.

Technology

Nvidia Heads for $400 Billion Two-Day Wipeout as CEO Affair Fallout Deepens

The Nvidia logo outside Nvidia's Shanghai office building in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2026. (Reuters)
The Nvidia logo outside Nvidia's Shanghai office building in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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Nvidia Heads for $400 Billion Two-Day Wipeout as CEO Affair Fallout Deepens

The Nvidia logo outside Nvidia's Shanghai office building in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2026. (Reuters)
The Nvidia logo outside Nvidia's Shanghai office building in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2026. (Reuters)

Nvidia shares extended losses on Tuesday, putting the chip giant on track to shed about $400 billion in market value over two sessions as concerns mounted over the fallout from CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing.

The CEO's relationship with Alice Huang helped facilitate shipments of at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people who know her. Alice Huang and Jensen Huang are not related.

The allegations have intensified scrutiny of Nvidia's governance, export-control compliance and reliance on Huang's leadership, adding to investor unease over whether massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure ‌will deliver adequate ‌returns.

Nvidia shares fell more than 5% after losing 4.3% ‌on ⁠Monday, when the company ⁠shed $192.08 billion in market value. Tuesday’s decline put another roughly $221 billion at risk if losses hold.

"The investment debate is whether this remains company-specific or triggers restrictions and disruption across AI infrastructure," Bank of America analysts wrote in a note. "We would not equate allegations with proven business damage."

Nvidia's board launched an internal investigation on Sunday, while the FBI is examining whether the 63-year-old Huang was targeted by a ⁠foreign intelligence operation. Huang has told employees he was unfaithful ‌to his wife but provided no ‌details about the relationship.

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, along with her husband and sister, ‌built a network of companies across China and Singapore to acquire Nvidia ‌chips, The Information reported.

At the center of the network was Shanghai Century Litong, a China-based company that secured preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia in 2023, giving it priority access to the company's chips, the report said.

When orders for Nvidia chips subject to ‌US export restrictions stalled, Alice Huang used ties to Nvidia and its distributors to secure supplies, helping move about 240,000 H100, ⁠H200 and some ⁠A100 chips into China, according to the report.

Century Litong rented computing capacity and operated data centers using Nvidia chips, including some barred from sale to China. Some of the chips ultimately served Alibaba, Tencent and smaller Chinese AI labs, The Information reported.

Alice Huang also held an executive position at Singapore-registered Megaspeed, which was linked to Century Litong and has been investigated by US authorities over Nvidia chip shipments from Southeast Asia to China, the report said.

The Information reported that Alice Huang leveraged her relationship with Jensen Huang to bolster her credibility while keeping her role vague and avoiding a paper trail.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alibaba, Tencent, Megaspeed and Shanghai Century Litong were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. Reuters could not independently verify the report.