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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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Analysts Warn US Could Be Handing Chip Market to China

A smartphone with a displayed AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A smartphone with a displayed AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Analysts Warn US Could Be Handing Chip Market to China

A smartphone with a displayed AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A smartphone with a displayed AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)

As the Trump administration attempts to choke off exports of strategically important computer chips to China, experts say the effort might well backfire, fueling innovation at Chinese firms that could help them seize the world semiconductor market.

"What's actually happening is that the US government right now is handing China a big win as it tries to get their own chip business going," said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold associates.

"Once they're competitive," he told AFP, "they'll start selling around the world and people will buy their chips."

When that happens, he added, it will be difficult for US chip makers to reclaim lost market share.

Silicon Valley semiconductor star Nvidia and its US rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) expect big financial hits from new US licensing requirements for semiconductors exported to China, they notified regulators this week.

Nvidia expects the new rules to cost it $5.5 billion, while AMD forecast it could sap as much as $800 million from the company's bottom line, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Administration officials told Nvidia it must obtain licenses to export its H20 chips to China because of concerns they may be used in supercomputers there, the company said.

The United States had already restricted exports to China, the world's biggest buyer of chips, of Nvidia's most sophisticated graphics processing units (GPUs), designed to power top-end artificial intelligence models.

Nvidia essentially developed the H20 chip for the Chinese market, aiming to maximize performance while meeting previous US export rules, but the new licensing requirements pose a roadblock, according to Gold.

For AMD, the new US export control measure applies to its MI308 GPUs, which are designed for high-performance applications like gaming and artificial intelligence, it said in a filing.

It noted that there are no guarantee licenses for sales to China will be granted.

- Opportunity for China? -

Independent tech analyst Rob Enderle predicted Chinese chip makers -- likely led by the huge Huawei corporation -- will ramp up efforts to snatch the lead in the market.

"It's going to be a godsend for China as they spin up their own microprocessor business," Enderle said of the tightened US export rules.

"This will be a really quick way to hand over US leadership in microprocessors and GPUs."

The Chinese government has ample resources and motivation to bolster its chip industry, according to Gold.

He said while US President Donald Trump might think he can "bully people" to achieve his objectives, "the worldwide economy is not like that."

Instead, Trump's tariffs have alienated allies, increasing their incentive to turn to China for chips, the analyst said.

"Across the board, this is going to create real problems for US companies competitively," Enderle said.

"Companies located overseas are suddenly going to be in much better shape to compete."

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has said publicly that the AI chip powerhouse can comply with the new US requirements without sacrificing technological progress, adding that nothing will stop the global advancement of artificial intelligence.

"Nvidia is one of the most important pieces in this (US) chess game with China," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.

"The Trump administration knows there is one chip and company fueling the AI Revolution and it's Nvidia," he said, and so it placed "a 'Do Not Enter' sign in front of China" to slow its progress.

Ives warned, however, that the chip wars are not over. He expects "more punches to be thrown by both sides."