GAIA Generative AI Accelerator Allocates $160 Million for 120 Startups

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) logo
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) logo
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GAIA Generative AI Accelerator Allocates $160 Million for 120 Startups

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) logo
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) logo

Supported by Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the National Technology Development Program (NTDP), in cooperation with New Native Inc., GAIA, the generative artificial-intelligence (AI) accelerator, contributed to supporting and empowering start-ups specialized in generative AI with the aim of improving them and accelerating their entry to the market.

GAIA has established four AI Hackathons so far, where more than 7,000 participants and AI developers have created 185 prototypes. The program budget has reached $30 million with the aim of empowering 300 startups in generative AI.

The first batch of GAIA accelerator was launched in July 2023 with the participation of 15 startups with the value of its investment fund amounting to $160 million that aims to invest in 120 companies in the early stages, as it tracks the progress of startups automatically using generative AI techniques.

The establishment of GAIA falls within efforts of SDAIA and NTDP to enhance the Kingdom’s pioneering scientific status as a leading enabler of AI technologies.

GAIA works on empowering the environmental AI systems in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region through offering programs that target the entrepreneurship sector and technology startups and attract Al-driven businesses in the Kingdom.



Trump Offers Support to Musk's Car Company in a Surprising Post as Tesla Stock Plunges

Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Elon Musk and President Donald Trump during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images/File Photo
Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Elon Musk and President Donald Trump during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images/File Photo
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Trump Offers Support to Musk's Car Company in a Surprising Post as Tesla Stock Plunges

Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Elon Musk and President Donald Trump during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images/File Photo
Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Elon Musk and President Donald Trump during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images/File Photo

President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday morning to support Elon Musk's car company, a startling development given their bitter public feud.

”I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, Reuters reported.

The post wasn't enough to help Tesla's stock, which fell sharply after the company reported another quarter of lackluster financial results and Musk warned of some potentially “rough quarters” into next year. At midday, the stock was down around 9%.

Late Wednesday, Tesla said revenue fell 12% and profit dropped 16% in the April-June quarter. Many prospective buyers have been turned off by Musk’s foray into right-wing politics, and the competition has ramped up in key markets such as Europe and China.

Investors have been unnerved by Musk's social media spat with the president because Trump has threatened to retaliate by ending government contracts and breaks for Musk's various businesses, including Tesla.

But Trump struck a starkly different tone Thursday morning.

“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the US Government. This is not so!" Trump wrote. “The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us.”

After Trump's massive budget bill passed earlier this month, Tesla faces the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit and stands to make much less money from selling regulatory credits to other automakers. Trump’s tariffs on countries including China and Mexico will also cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said on its earnings call.

Musk has blasted the budget bill on his own social media platform X for adding to US debt at a time when it is already too large. The Tesla CEO has called the budget pushed by the president a “disgusting abomination” and has threatened to form a new political party.

On Wednesday's call, Musk said the electric vehicle maker will face “a few rough quarters” as it moves into a future focused less on selling cars and more on offering people rides in self-driving cars. He also talked up the company's business making humanoid robotics. But he acknowledged those businesses are a ways off from contributing to Tesla’s bottom line.

Tesla began a rollout in June of its paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to introduce the driverless cabs in several other cities soon. Musk told analysts that the service will be available to probably “half of the population of the US by the end of the year — that’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.”

“We’re in this weird transition period where we’ll lose a lot of incentives in the US,” Musk said, adding that Tesla “probably could have a few rough quarters” ahead. He added, though, “Once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I would be surprised if Tesla’s economics are not very compelling.”