SDAIA Partners with NVIDIA to Boost Saudi Arabia's AI Capabilities 

SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)
SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)
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SDAIA Partners with NVIDIA to Boost Saudi Arabia's AI Capabilities 

SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)
SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced on Tuesday its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. The partnership also aims to boost the model's effectiveness and expand its capabilities by leveraging NVIDIA's advanced technological expertise.

The announcement was made during the third Global AI (GAIN) Summit, which kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday.

The summit was attended by SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, SDAIA Vice President Dr. Sami bin Abdullah Muqeem, National Information Center Director Dr. Essam bin Abdullah Al-Wagait, and National Data Management Office (NDMO) head Al-Rabdi bin Fahd Al-Rabdi.

The collaboration allows the ALLaM model to benefit from the NVIDIA NeMo platform, part of NVIDIA's AI software, to train language models and make them widely accessible to users, while implementing safeguards to ensure system security.

NVIDIA provides enhanced, user-friendly capabilities that help developers build generative AI applications using the ALLaM model's features, setting a new standard for AI-based language models in the region. It positions the model as a key player in advanced Arabic-language technologies and helps companies access the newly announced NVIDIA NIM.

In addition to these advancements in AI applications, SDAIA will work closely with NVIDIA to boost its supercomputing infrastructure.

Moreover, there are plans that include establishing one of the largest high-performance data centers in the Middle East and North Africa by upgrading the existing infrastructure of SDAIA's NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD, which boasts unique specifications.

The expansion will integrate NVIDIA's most advanced technologies, eventually reaching over 5,000 GPUs. Hence, it will open new horizons for digital innovation and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

By integrating the NVIDIA Triton Inference Server for efficient model deployment and NVIDIA TensorRT software, SDAIA ensures the continuous development of its AI infrastructure, keeping it at the forefront of global technological trends.

Through its collaboration with NVIDIA, SDAIA is co-leading a new era of AI-powered transformation in the Kingdom, further strengthening its leadership in digital innovation on the international stage.



Nintendo Offers New Switch 2 Details ahead of June 5 Launch

People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
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Nintendo Offers New Switch 2 Details ahead of June 5 Launch

People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers.

At its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation, the company revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch 2, a larger screen and several games that will launch with the console.

Central to its updated system is a new “C” button on its Joy-Con controller, which will launch a new “GameChat” feature that allows you to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and let you share your game screen with other players. A built-in microphone will also allow you to chat with other gamers, The AP reported.

Perhaps the most contemporary function yet for the Switch 2 is the ability to use the Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse. The developer displayed multiple ways to use the new function in games, such as angling a club in a golf game.

Wednesday's presentation led off with an extended look at a new Mario Kart game that saw in-game characters doing flips, tricks and rail grinds. The developer also unveiled a new James Bond game, dubbed Project 007, revisiting a classic Nintendo 64 console hit revered by many first-person shooter game fans.

The new console will be backwards compatible — able to play physical and digital Switch games — but users will need to purchase a new type of SD memory card for the Switch 2. The presentation revealed that normal SD cards will not be compatible with the system, but data from the original Switch can be transferred to the new console.

Nintendo plans to host “Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where gamers can get a hands-on experience with the new system. Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning this month.