عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

Saudi stc Launches Vision Submarine Cable in Red Sea

The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi stc Launches Vision Submarine Cable in Red Sea

The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi telecommunication company stc Group launched the "Saudi Vision Cable," the first high-speed cable in the Red Sea, through its first landing station in Jeddah.

The Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), Mohammed al-Tamimi, attended the launch ceremony.

The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters.

The new cable will provide connectivity up to 18 Terabytes per second/fiber pair with 16 fiber pairs through four landings in Jeddah, Yanbu, Duba, and Haql.

Group CEO Olayan al-Wetaid explained that this achievement reveals the company's leadership in providing advanced maritime and international telecommunications services.

Wetaid indicated that it reflects "our comprehensive strategy that aims to diversify the Group's investment opportunities and support digital transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by boosting the digital infrastructure."

He explained that the cable would provide digital connectivity services for corporates and individuals between Saudi Arabia and the world by building a regional digital hub connecting the continents and helping meet the needs of companies and customers via an integrated digital ecosystem.

Saudi Vision Cable provides communication between several international information centers.

"It also achieves the raising level of the unified optical fiber platform that is cost-efficient and flexible, and provides access low latency - to all international cables in the landing stations and information centers of the stc Group," he added.

The new cable will be one of the submarine cables that will be linked to the MENA Hub connecting three continents of the globe, leveraging the strategic location of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will help to enhance investment in international communication services and data centers.

It will join the 16 cables invested by stc Group between the east and the west of the Kingdom and provide more reliable internet service to meet the increasing demand for communications and internet at the local and international levels.

It will also allow all of the country's sectors to obtain high-speed internet services, including education, healthcare, and business which will, in general, provide economic and social benefits.

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

Robot Brings Cashier and Service-Host Functions to LEAP 2026

LEAP 2026 is showcasing an emerging Saudi experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics through a robot named RoboNex, designed to combine cashier and service-host functions in the restaurant and café sector. (SPA)
LEAP 2026 is showcasing an emerging Saudi experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics through a robot named RoboNex, designed to combine cashier and service-host functions in the restaurant and café sector. (SPA)
TT
TT

Robot Brings Cashier and Service-Host Functions to LEAP 2026

LEAP 2026 is showcasing an emerging Saudi experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics through a robot named RoboNex, designed to combine cashier and service-host functions in the restaurant and café sector. (SPA)
LEAP 2026 is showcasing an emerging Saudi experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics through a robot named RoboNex, designed to combine cashier and service-host functions in the restaurant and café sector. (SPA)

LEAP 2026 is showcasing an emerging Saudi experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics through a robot named RoboNex, designed to combine cashier and service-host functions in the restaurant and café sector. The robot interacts with customers in real time, takes their orders and provides smart recommendations, the Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday.

The robot’s development took place in Saudi Arabia, starting with structural design and component engineering and progressing to controller programming, AI algorithms, voice-processing systems and real-time interaction. It was also integrated with point-of-sale systems and electronic payment gateways.

The robot can handle sales transactions and take customer orders, while recommending additional products based on items already in the shopping basket. It can display specified discounts and promotional offers during the purchasing journey.

The presence of robots at LEAP 2026 highlights the growing adoption of AI and robotics across industries, as these technologies move beyond experimental concepts toward real-world applications in business, services and retail.

Technology

DeepFest Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Next Phase of AI Adoption on Third Day

Chief Strategy Officer of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Abdullah Alkhodairi said Saudi Arabia is moving toward adopting an AI-first approach. (SPA)
Chief Strategy Officer of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Abdullah Alkhodairi said Saudi Arabia is moving toward adopting an AI-first approach. (SPA)
TT
TT

DeepFest Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Next Phase of AI Adoption on Third Day

Chief Strategy Officer of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Abdullah Alkhodairi said Saudi Arabia is moving toward adopting an AI-first approach. (SPA)
Chief Strategy Officer of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Abdullah Alkhodairi said Saudi Arabia is moving toward adopting an AI-first approach. (SPA)

Chief Strategy Officer of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Abdullah Alkhodairi said Saudi Arabia is moving toward adopting an AI-first approach as he opened the third day of DeepFest 2026, held alongside LEAP 2026.

Alkhodairi said Saudi Arabia is ushering in a new phase in which AI is considered from the outset when designing services and products. This approach helps boost productivity, improve quality and resource efficiency, and deliver better outcomes for society and the economy, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

Alkhodairi said the designation of 2026 as the Year of Artificial Intelligence has set a clear direction for Saudi Arabia to make AI a powerful driver of development, competitiveness, and innovation.

He noted that more than 80% of employees covered by Stanford University’s latest AI Index Report in Saudi Arabia regularly use AI in their daily work. This means the challenge is shifting from raising awareness and encouraging experimentation to turning this widespread adoption into sustainable institutional value.

Alkhodairi said an AI-first approach does not mean using AI everywhere or putting technology ahead of people, but rather “putting value before technology,” applying AI where it offers a genuine advantage and choosing the most appropriate solution when AI is not the best option.

Technology

Nvidia Boss Presses G20 Ministers to Build AI Infrastructure

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the G20 Innovation Ministerial on September 2, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Getty Images/AFP)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the G20 Innovation Ministerial on September 2, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Getty Images/AFP)
TT
TT

Nvidia Boss Presses G20 Ministers to Build AI Infrastructure

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the G20 Innovation Ministerial on September 2, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Getty Images/AFP)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the G20 Innovation Ministerial on September 2, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Getty Images/AFP)

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang urged G20 ministers on Wednesday to build more data centers to support the artificial intelligence revolution, and warned that leaders who talk up the technology's dangers risk leaving their countries behind.

Huang made the plea on the second day of a G20 meeting in North Carolina, where the Trump administration has corralled top AI executives to pitch their vision to ministers from the world's leading economies.

"In the end, what every single country will have to recognize is that (AI) is infrastructure, just as it's water, roads, electricity, the internet," Huang told ministers at the event.

"Every single country needs to build infrastructure so that you can support your own local economy," he said.

Nvidia is the key company behind the generative AI frenzy that has catapulted it to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company.

The company's graphics processing units (GPUs), housed in specially built data centers going up across the world, are the key components for training AI models.

Such facilities provide "the digital intellectual capacity to support your researchers and students and society and industries and startups," he said.

Huang pushed back on notions that AI posed a threat to jobs, one of the fears that has fueled public opposition to the technology.

"The idea that somehow all the jobs are going to be eliminated or removed -- that's just nonsense," Huang told the G20 technology ministers.

Work would be redefined rather than eliminated, he argued.

"The tasks are going to be automated, but our jobs' purpose remain," he said.

He warned that countries would suffer if leaders "talk about the technology with fear, with uncertainty."

"The worst outcome is that you don't take advantage of it, that you are left behind. That is the single worst outcome," Huang said.

Huang also urged governments not to overregulate the technology, echoing similar comments by Elon Musk a day earlier.

"Don't regulate hypothetical theoretical harm, regulate actual and pragmatic harm," Huang said.

His appearance was moderated by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who called Huang an "American treasure."

"Your company is leading us in a path that none of us, when we were young, ever dreamed possible," Lutnick said.

The meeting came amid a growing backlash against the construction of AI data centers in the United States, an issue that has taken on political weight as the country heads toward midterm elections in November.

President Donald Trump on Monday attacked opponents of artificial intelligence data centers, saying they would end up "backwards and poor."