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Saudi Arabia: KACST Signs 13 Partnership Agreements to Build Semiconductor System

KACST signed 13 local and international strategic partnerships to build the semiconductor system. SPA
KACST signed 13 local and international strategic partnerships to build the semiconductor system. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: KACST Signs 13 Partnership Agreements to Build Semiconductor System

KACST signed 13 local and international strategic partnerships to build the semiconductor system. SPA
KACST signed 13 local and international strategic partnerships to build the semiconductor system. SPA

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) signed 13 local and international strategic partnerships to build the semiconductor system, establish centers of excellence to accelerate technical development in emerging technologies and future communications, and qualify national cadres, as part of the work of LEAP tech conference.

KACST's partnerships in the field of localization of the semiconductor industry included, Alat Company, one of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) companies, in which it built and supported the semiconductor system in the Kingdom, while its partnership with the Global Semiconductor Group (GSG) focused on designing electronic chips, building national talents and attracting global competencies and international companies in the field of electronic chip design to the Kingdom market.

In the field of future communications and open networks, KACST through its strategic partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA), the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), and Saudi Aramco, established a national technical and industrial alliance in the fields of 5G and 6G communications technologies and Open RAN, to create an ecosystem to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in future communication technologies, ensuring the Kingdom’s global role as a major developer of 6G technologies.

KACST, in partnership with Aramco, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the RDIA, and the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, launched the Saudi Accelerated Innovation Center to enhance quantum technologies and develop 5G and 6G communications networks.
KACST launched a strategic partnership with Animoca Brands to enhance the application of Web 3 system in the Kingdom, facilitate the arrangement of companies and institutions to enter the Web 3 system, and identify joint research and development projects in blockchain applications, games, artificial intelligence, and metaverse development.
To promote public health, KACST has concluded a strategic partnership with Ascend Solutions Ltd. to develop innovation in the field of digital health and disability research, promote virtual health care, and contribute to building innovative health technologies using AI and Internet of Things technologies.
To localize emerging technologies and build future cities, KACST signed a strategic partnership with Cisco Saudi Arabia Limited Company to establish the Virtual Digital Innovation Center (VDIC).
KACST also signed a strategic partnership with Elm Company, to enhance cooperation in the field of future cities' technologies and emerging technologies, in addition to its partnership with Tulip Technologies Company to enhance cooperation in research and development, and training in the field of robotics, AI, and automation.
To achieve the objectives of the Made in Saudi Program, KACST signed a strategic partnership with CiDi Auto (Hong Kong) Limited, to cooperate in research and development activities related to heavy trucks, future transportation technologies, and smart cities, and to explore the feasibility of supplying the Saudi market with these trucks, and work on research, design and manufacturing of vehicles in the Kingdom to join the international market.
Additionally, the partnership is designed to facilitate the testing and implementation of new technologies in KACST laboratories, establishing laboratories in common fields, and hosting technical companies that focus on research, development and innovation activities.
To boost innovation, KACST has established a partnership with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited to develop the infrastructure of science and technology parks in the Kingdom, facilitate the entry of companies from the Kingdom and Hong Kong into potential markets, help them succeed and adapt, and create opportunities for cooperation in digital service platforms and programs to enhance operating efficiency and provide services in science and technology fields.
Regarding developing the skills of national cadres; the Academy 32 at KACST signed a strategic partnership with Cisco Saudi Arabia Limited and Nortal, to transfer knowledge and qualify human cadres in the field of professional certificates in information technology.

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Technology

Foundation Stone Laid for World’s Largest Government Data Center in Riyadh

Officials are seen at Thursday's ceremony. (SPA)
Officials are seen at Thursday's ceremony. (SPA)
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Foundation Stone Laid for World’s Largest Government Data Center in Riyadh

Officials are seen at Thursday's ceremony. (SPA)
Officials are seen at Thursday's ceremony. (SPA)

The foundation stone was laid in Riyadh Thursday for the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) “Hexagon” Data Center, the world’s largest government data center by megawatt capacity.

Classified as Tier IV and holding the highest data center rating by the global Uptime Institute, the facility will have a total capacity of 480 megawatts and will be built on an area exceeding 30 million square feet in the Saudi capital.

Designed to the highest international standards, the center will provide maximum availability, security, and operational readiness for government data centers. It will meet the growing needs of government entities and support the increasing reliance on electronic services.

The project will contribute to strengthening the national economy and reinforce the Kingdom’s position as a key player in the future of the global digital economy.

A ceremony was held on the occasion, attended by senior officials from various government entities. They were received at the venue by President of SDAIA Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi and SDAIA officials.

Director of the National Information Center at SDAIA Dr. Issam bin Abdullah Alwagait outlined the project’s details, technical and engineering specifications, and the operational architecture ensuring the highest levels of readiness and availability.

He also reviewed the international accreditations obtained for the center’s solutions and engineering design in line with recognized global standards.

In a press statement, SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi said the landmark national project comes as part of the continued support of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of SDAIA’s Board of Directors.

This support enables the authority, as the Kingdom’s competent body for data, including big data, and artificial intelligence and the national reference for their regulation, development, and use, to contribute to advancing the Kingdom toward leadership among data- and AI-driven economies, he noted.

The Kingdom will continue to strengthen its presence in advanced technologies with the ongoing support of the Crown Prince, he stressed.

SDAIA will pursue pioneering projects that reflect its ambitious path toward building an integrated digital ecosystem, strengthening national enablers in data and artificial intelligence, and developing world-class technical infrastructure that boosts the competitiveness of the national economy and attracts investment. This aligns with Saudi Vision 2030’s objectives of building a sustainable knowledge-based economy and achieving global leadership in advanced technologies.

Technology

Neuralink Plans ‘High-Volume’ Brain Implant Production by 2026, Musk Says

Elon Musk steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, US, March 22, 2025. (AFP)
Elon Musk steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, US, March 22, 2025. (AFP)
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Neuralink Plans ‘High-Volume’ Brain Implant Production by 2026, Musk Says

Elon Musk steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, US, March 22, 2025. (AFP)
Elon Musk steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, US, March 22, 2025. (AFP)

Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink will start "high-volume production" of brain-computer interface devices and move to an entirely automated surgical procedure in 2026, Musk said in a post on the social media platform X on ‌Wednesday.

Neuralink did ‌not immediately respond ‌to ⁠a Reuters ‌request for comment.

The implant is designed to help people with conditions such as a spinal cord injury. The first patient has used it to play video ⁠games, browse the internet, post on ‌social media, and ‍move a cursor ‍on a laptop.

The company began ‍human trials of its brain implant in 2024 after addressing safety concerns raised by the US Food and Drug Administration, which had initially rejected its application in ⁠2022.

Neuralink said in September that 12 people worldwide with severe paralysis have received its brain implants and were using them to control digital and physical tools through thought. It also secured $650 million in a June funding round.

Technology

Report: France Aims to Ban Under-15s from Social Media from September 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference during a European Union leaders' summit, in Brussels, Belgium December 19, 2025. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference during a European Union leaders' summit, in Brussels, Belgium December 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Report: France Aims to Ban Under-15s from Social Media from September 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference during a European Union leaders' summit, in Brussels, Belgium December 19, 2025. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference during a European Union leaders' summit, in Brussels, Belgium December 19, 2025. (Reuters)

France plans to ban children under 15 from social media sites and to prohibit mobile phones in high schools from September 2026, local media reported on Wednesday, moves that underscore rising public angst over the impact of online harms on minors.

President Emmanuel Macron has often pointed to social media as one of the factors to blame for violence among young people and has signaled he wants France to follow Australia, whose world-first ‌ban for under-16s ‌on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok ‌and ⁠YouTube came into force ‌in December.

Le Monde newspaper said Macron could announce the measures in his New Year's Eve national address, due to be broadcast at 1900 GMT. His government will submit draft legislation for legal checks in early January, Le Monde and France Info reported.

The Elysee and the prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.

Mobile phones have been banned ⁠in French primary and middle schools since 2018 and the reported new changes would extend that ban ‌to high schools. Pupils aged 11 to ‍15 attend middle schools in the French ‍educational system.

France also passed a law in 2023 requiring social platforms to ‍obtain parental consent for under-15s to create accounts, though technical challenges have impeded its enforcement.

Macron said in June he would push for regulation at the level of the European Union to ban access to social media for all under-15s after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France shocked the nation.

The European Parliament in ⁠November urged the EU to set minimum ages for children to access social media to combat a rise in mental health problems among adolescents from excessive exposure, although it is member states which impose age limits. Various other countries have also taken steps to regulate children's access to social media.

Macron heads into the New Year with his domestic legacy in tatters after his gamble on parliamentary elections in 2024 led to a hung parliament, triggering France's worst political crisis in decades that has seen a succession of weak governments.

However, cracking down further on minors' access to social media could prove popular, according to opinion ‌polls. A Harris Interactive survey in 2024 showed 73% of those canvassed supporting a ban on social media access for under-15s.