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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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World Bank: Saudi Arabia Presents Global Model for Responsible AI Innovation in Digital Learning

The Saudi flag. File/Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. File/Asharq Al-Awsat
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World Bank: Saudi Arabia Presents Global Model for Responsible AI Innovation in Digital Learning

The Saudi flag. File/Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. File/Asharq Al-Awsat

The World Bank has documented Saudi Arabia's experience in utilizing AI in learning, affirming that the AI Sandbox for Digital Learning (AISB) initiative represents a pioneering national model for countries seeking to advance responsible innovation and improve the quality of digital learning, SPA reported.

This came in a study published by the World Bank titled: "AI Sandbox for Digital Learning in Saudi Arabia: Driving Socio-Economic Impact through AI Innovation in Digital Learning." The study reviewed the Saudi experience as an integrated model that combines practical experimentation, capacity building, governance, and the orchestration of an innovation ecosystem within a single national platform led by the National eLearning Centre (NeLC).

The study highlighted that the initiative actively contributes to enhancing digital learning quality, developing human capabilities, and boosting national workforce readiness. Furthermore, it enabled institutions and innovators to develop and test AI solutions within real-world, secure learning environments, directly aligning with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and maximizing the socio-economic impact of innovation in learning.

The study also noted that the Saudi experience transcends the mere testing of technologies; it provides an environment that fosters the generation of evidence-based knowledge, strengthens partnerships, and accelerates the adoption of responsible innovation. Consequently, this helps build a sustainable ecosystem for AI in digital learning.

The World Bank concluded that the Saudi experience has laid a solid foundation to build upon, positioning Saudi Arabia to serve as a regional and international reference point for responsible, evidence-informed innovation.

The AISB, led by NeLC, is implemented within an integrated national ecosystem in partnership with several government institutions.

Technology

South Korea's SK Hynix to Invest $64 Billion in Memory Chip Plants

FILE PHOTO: The SK Hynix logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The SK Hynix logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
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South Korea's SK Hynix to Invest $64 Billion in Memory Chip Plants

FILE PHOTO: The SK Hynix logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The SK Hynix logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

SK Hynix said it would invest 100 trillion won ($64.38 billion) to build new chip plants, including one for NAND flash memory, as part of a massive South Korean investment drive aimed at spreading returns from the AI boom beyond Seoul.

The projects in the central city of Cheongju outlined on Thursday are included in a broader $2.1 trillion plan unveiled by the chipmaker and its local rival Samsung Electronics this week that also included a new chip cluster in the southwest and existing projects.

The huge capacity buildout by the South Korean chipmakers is a major political win for the country's President Lee Jae Myung, who wants the AI windfall to help revive economies beyond ⁠the Seoul metropolitan area, ⁠though it is stoking fears of a painful reckoning if AI spending cools.

At an event on Thursday attended by Lee, SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said the company would spend 80 trillion won to build a new factory for NAND memory chip production by 2029 and 20 trillion won for a chip packaging plant by late 2027 in Cheongju.

The plan to invest 100 trillion won in Cheongju was announced on Monday, but details of the investment were not provided at the time, Reuters reported.

South Korea is hoping the investments will ⁠double the country's memory chip production capacity within five years. Samsung and SK Hynix are the world's largest manufacturers of memory chips alongside US rival Micron.

The investments come as demand from AI hyperscalers has caused a global shortage of all types of memory chips. Prices for both NAND flash memory, a storage chip that retains data even when a device is turned off, and DRAM have soared to historical highs.

SK Hynix shares ended down 15% and Samsung shares closed 9% lower on Thursday, hit by a global selloff in chipmakers as Meta Platforms' plan to sell computing power raised questions over excess AI computing capacity.

Michael Burry, the investor whose successful bets against the US housing market in 2008 were recounted in the movie "The Big Short," expressed caution about the massive South Korean investment plan in a subscriber-only Substack ⁠newsletter on Tuesday, the Wall ⁠Street Journal reported.

The investment drive set off alarm bells for Burry over whether the massive sums of money being poured into AI could ever generate appropriate returns, according to the report, which added that he had made more bearish bets against AI-related stocks.

"I see that as the beginning of the end," he told subscribers.

At the SK Hynix event, Kwak expressed confidence in AI-driven demand for chips.

"While demand for NAND has been increasing and is expected to continue growing in the future, NAND supply is constrained," he said.

SK Hynix said it planned to start construction of the new Cheongju NAND factory, known as M17, next year.

In April, SK Hynix broke ground on the P&T7 fab at Cheongju, a dedicated advanced packaging facility for AI memory, including high-bandwidth memory.

However, the company cautioned in a filing this week that the long-term investment plans could change depending on global chip demand and spending by major customers.

Factors such as delays in selecting and securing construction sites could also cause it to postpone plans, it added.

Technology

Microsoft Partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to Build India-Southeast Asia Undersea Cable

FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
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Microsoft Partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to Build India-Southeast Asia Undersea Cable

FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
FILED - 30 January 2026, Bavaria, Munich: FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo can be seen on the Microsoft Germany headquarters building in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa

A consortium including Microsoft and telecom startup Lightstorm plans to build a new undersea cable linking India with Malaysia and Singapore as technology firms compete to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in India, one of the world's fastest-growing data markets.

The consortium, whose other members include Tata Communications , Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore's ASEAN Cableship and Japan's NEC Corporation, will construct the I-2SEA cable to support AI, cloud and hyperscale workloads, Reuters quoted the companies as saying on Thursday.

They did not provide additional details including the investment ⁠size.

The network will ⁠span 3,600 km and have landing stations in Machilipatnam in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where Meta and Alphabet have announced data centers.

The cable is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2029, Lightstorm Group CEO and Managing ⁠Director Amajit Gupta told Reuters in an interview.

The I Squared-backed company currently connects 19 AI and cloud zones across India through terrestrial fiber cable networks, with the new network expected to bring this number up to 29, Gupta said.

India's operational data center capacity could double from the current 1.4 gigawatts by 2027, based on projects under construction, and increase five-fold by 2030 if planned projects are fast-tracked, Macquarie Equity Research ⁠said in ⁠a report last October.

Undersea cables carry roughly 95% of the world's internet traffic. India currently has 17 active submarine cables with a maximum potential capacity of 960 terabits per second, and at least 10 more have been publicly announced, according to TeleGeography, a telecommunications research firm.

Separately, Lightstorm plans to list in India in mid-2027, Gupta said, without disclosing any other details. The company was seeking a valuation of up to $1.5 billion in March, according to a media report.