Saudi Arabia, US Discuss Enhancing Cooperation in Future Communications Technologies

KACST's President met with the US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Tech Affairs and her accompanying delegation. SPA
KACST's President met with the US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Tech Affairs and her accompanying delegation. SPA
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Saudi Arabia, US Discuss Enhancing Cooperation in Future Communications Technologies

KACST's President met with the US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Tech Affairs and her accompanying delegation. SPA
KACST's President met with the US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Tech Affairs and her accompanying delegation. SPA

President of King Abdulaziz City or Science and Technology (KACST) Dr. Munir bin Mahmoud Eldesouki held a meeting at the KACST headquarters in Riyadh Thursday with the US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Tech Affairs, Anne Neuberger, and her accompanying delegation of representatives from 20 companies to enhance cooperation in future communications technologies.

During the meeting, Eldesouki discussed the role the National Labs play in accelerating technological developments, bridging the gap between industry and academia, and promoting innovation by establishing science and technology parks that contribute to supporting the national economy towards realizing Saudi Vision 2030.

The Senior Vice President of KACST for Research and Development, Dr. Talal bin Ahmed Al-Sedairy, and the Deputy Minister for Telecom and Infrastructure at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Eng. Bassam bin Abdullah Al-Bassam, spoke about the national strategies and guidelines for communications in the Kingdom from the perspective of adopting technologies, and supporting research and development towards enabling innovation in the economies of the future sector.

Representatives of a number of American government agencies and companies discussed the ongoing roll-out and operations of Open RAN innovations, as well as developments of cybersecurity technologies, and the role of artificial intelligence in developing smart networks.

Additionally, representatives of the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA), King Saud University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and a number of American companies reviewed the role of academic partnership in accelerating innovation and the practical application of research outputs, accelerating the development and adoption of Open RAN networks, and developing the skills of professionals in this field.

Executives and researchers from KACST, STC Group, Aramco, together with senior officials in the American delegation from Amazon, Qualcomm, Ciena, IBM, and Ceres Capital; touched on potential investment opportunities in the Garage innovation district, joint research and development programs, and establishing joint laboratories and centers of excellence.

The meeting was followed by a visit to an exhibition, which KACST organized on the sidelines of the LEAP Tech Convention, that showcased collaborations between Saudi Arabia and the United States through the Joint Centers of Excellence programs.

In addition, the US delegation visited the semiconductor cleanroom as well as fourth industrial revolution labs, and the tour ended with a visit to the Garage, which is the largest deep-tech incubator and accelerator in the region, hosting 200 companies coming from more than 50 countries from around the world.



Google Hires Windsurf Execs in $2.4 Billion Deal to Advance AI Coding Ambitions

FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Google Hires Windsurf Execs in $2.4 Billion Deal to Advance AI Coding Ambitions

FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Alphabet's Google has hired several key staff members from AI code generation startup Windsurf, the companies announced on Friday, in a surprise move following an attempt by its rival OpenAI to acquire the startup.

Google is paying $2.4 billion in license fees as part of the deal to use some of Windsurf's technology under non-exclusive terms, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Google will not take a stake or any controlling interest in Windsurf, the person added.

Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and some members of the coding tool's research and development team will join Google's DeepMind AI division, Reuters reported.

The deal followed months of discussions Windsurf was having with OpenAI to sell itself in a deal that could value it at $3 billion, highlighting the interest in the code-generation space which has emerged as one of the fastest-growing AI applications, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in June.

OpenAI could not be immediately reached for a comment.

The former Windsurf team will focus on agentic coding initiatives at Google DeepMind, primarily working on the Gemini project.

"We're excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf's team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding," Google said in a statement.

The unusual deal structure marks a win for backers for Windsurf, which has raised $243 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Greenoaks and General Catalyst, and was last valued at $1.25 billion one year ago, according to PitchBook.

Windsurf investors will receive liquidity through the license fee and retain their stakes in the company, sources told Reuters.

'ACQUIHIRE' DEALS

Google's surprise swoop mirrors its deal in August 2024 to hire key employees from chatbot startup Character.AI.

Big Tech peers, including Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, have similarly taken to these so-called acquihire deals, which some have criticized as an attempt to evade regulatory scrutiny.

Microsoft struck a $650 million deal with Inflection AI in March 2024, to use the AI startup's models and hire its staff, while Amazon hired AI firm Adept's co-founders and some of its team last June.

Meta took a 49% stake in Scale AI in June in the biggest test yet of this increasing form of business partnerships.

Unlike acquisitions that would give the buyer a controlling stake, these deals do not require a review by US antitrust regulators. However, they could probe the deal if they believe it was structured to avoid those requirements or harm competition. Many of the deals have since become the subject of regulatory probes.

The development comes as tech giants, including Alphabet and Meta, aggressively chase high-profile acquisitions and offer multi-million-dollar pay packages to attract top talent in the race to lead the next wave of AI.

Windsurf's head of business, Jeff Wang, has been appointed its interim CEO, and Graham Moreno, vice president of global sales, will be president, effective immediately.

The majority of Windsurf's roughly 250 employees will remain with the company, which has announced plans to prioritize innovation for its enterprise clients.