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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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Riyadh to Host Global Security and Technology Summit in December 2026

The agenda also includes the SAIIF global security and technology innovation competition to be held in Riyadh from November 19-21 - SPA
The agenda also includes the SAIIF global security and technology innovation competition to be held in Riyadh from November 19-21 - SPA
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Riyadh to Host Global Security and Technology Summit in December 2026

The agenda also includes the SAIIF global security and technology innovation competition to be held in Riyadh from November 19-21 - SPA
The agenda also includes the SAIIF global security and technology innovation competition to be held in Riyadh from November 19-21 - SPA

Under the patronage of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Ministry of Interior will organize the Global Security and Technology Summit (GSTS) in Riyadh from December 18-20, 2026, in partnership with Tuwaiq Academy.

Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz expressed gratitude to the Crown Prince for his patronage, noting that it reflects the leadership's commitment to enhancing the security ecosystem and enabling digital transformation across national, regional, and international security sectors, SPA reported.

The summit will feature specialized programs, knowledge sessions, and technical workshops covering cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, smart surveillance technologies, and crisis management, bringing together government entities, the private sector, and academic institutions.

The agenda also includes the SAIIF global security and technology innovation competition, to be held in Riyadh from November 19-21, 2026, with prizes valued at SAR5 million, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, and digital transformation in the security sector.

Technology

AI Robot Cleaners Leave the Lab for China's Living Rooms

The service is a baby step towards a future in which robots increasingly take over manual labor from humans. WANG Zhao / AFP
The service is a baby step towards a future in which robots increasingly take over manual labor from humans. WANG Zhao / AFP
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AI Robot Cleaners Leave the Lab for China's Living Rooms

The service is a baby step towards a future in which robots increasingly take over manual labor from humans. WANG Zhao / AFP
The service is a baby step towards a future in which robots increasingly take over manual labor from humans. WANG Zhao / AFP

Beijing cleaner Lin Meiqiong found her work a little easier the day she was paired with an unlikely new colleague -- a tall, wheeled robot with AI-powered tidying skills.

The 56-year-old and her white-and-silver partner, fitted with cameras and two mechanical claws, are part of a new human-robot cleaning service offered by Chinese household help platform 58.com.

It's a baby step towards a future espoused by tech evangelists in which robots increasingly take over manual labor from humans -- though at the moment, such services are largely a data-gathering exercise for companies and a novelty for curious customers.

"It's definitely different," Lin told AFP in between cleaning the kitchen and wiping down windows.

"I used to have to do everything myself," she said. "It's reduced the workload a bit."

The cleaning service, a collaboration between 58.com and Chinese robotics company X Square, costs 149 yuan ($22) for three hours and is available in Beijing and tech hub Shenzhen.

Helped into the apartment by an X Square engineer, the AI-operated Quanta X1 Pro robot uses its cameras to identify areas it could spruce up.

As Lin scrubbed the floor on her knees, it picked up rubbish and folded clothes strewn across a sofa.

Grasping a pair of dark grey trousers, it raised its upper body to stretch the fabric taut, before laying it flat and arranging it into neat halves.

The process took several minutes and resembled a child learning to fold clothes for the first time.

Future iterations of the robot will respond to voice commands and even be able to chat, said the engineer, Hu Bowen.

- 'Better than a lab' -

Around 200 households have booked the service since it was rolled out in March.

Tan Pei, who works in advertising and booked the robot to clean her Beijing flat, said she had chosen the service because she was interested to "see what it could do".

"Even though it's not that perfect, there are still parts of it that surprised me," such as folding a pair of trousers "quite well", she said.

China's robots have wowed audiences with fluid dancing and set-piece martial arts displays onstage, but their application and performance in real-life settings remains limited.

For companies like X Square, the logic of launching an imperfect service lies in data collection for so-called embodied artificial intelligence.

Unlike large language models trained on vast quantities of internet content, robots lack comparable real-world datasets.

"We don't have a robot internet yet," Christoforos Mavrogiannis from the University of Michigan told AFP.

"It is much more informative to put the robot out there and study what happens than staying forever in the lab."

X Square engineer Hu said he sends his robots to work in a "completely unfamiliar environment".

"That is very challenging, but this unfamiliar data is also very helpful for the robot's growth."

As investment into embodied AI booms, similar trials in China include robots directing traffic in cities like Hangzhou or working on factory floors.

On the domestic help front, firm GigaAI also plans to deploy 100 humanoid robots into households in central Wuhan this autumn for free home-service trials.

Investors have poured more than 57.7 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) into China's embodied AI industry so far this year, already soaring past the total for last year as a whole, according to business database ITjuzi.

- 'Very elementary stage' -

But a myriad of hurdles stand in the way of widespread deployment.

As the Quanta X1 Pro's clothes folding demonstrated, robots still can't match human dexterity.

"Even though many companies are working on building better hands and building autonomy for hands, we don't have that yet," the University of Michigan's Mavrogiannis said.

There are multiple regulatory issues even once the physical capability is there.

Privacy will become a big issue, as robots would have access to huge amounts of personal data.

"We don't know where that data is going, where it's located... who is looking at that information," said Valeria Alessandra Macalupu Chira from Queensland University of Technology.

The safety of clients and their homes is another unresolved issue.

"I think we are still at a very elementary stage," said Yang Jianfei from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

Robots currently require supervision by humans who can activate emergency stop functions, he noted, and there are not yet recognized industry-wide safety standards.

Experts agree broad adoption seems a long way off.

Asked whether she thought robots would revolutionize her industry, cleaner Lin did not seem too concerned.

"Compared with people, it's obviously still not quite there," she said. "After all, it's a robot."

Technology

Saudi Arabia Participates in GPAI Paris Meeting for First Time as Member

Saudi Arabia Participates in GPAI Paris Meeting for First Time as Member
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Saudi Arabia Participates in GPAI Paris Meeting for First Time as Member

Saudi Arabia Participates in GPAI Paris Meeting for First Time as Member

Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), participated for the first time as a member of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) during the partnership’s fifth plenary meeting, held at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris from June 9–11, the Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday.

The event brought together member countries, experts, and AI policymakers from around the world to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and international cooperation in the field.

The Kingdom was represented at the meeting by Rehab Alarfaj, General Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Indices at SDAIA, who participated in sessions and discussions focused on AI governance, the implementation of the OECD AI Principles, and the future direction of the GPAI’s work.

Alarfaj stressed the importance of developing practical tools to translate AI principles into actionable, real-world applications. These tools should account for differences in national priorities and levels of institutional maturity among countries, while ensuring the principles remain globally consistent and locally applicable.