SDAIA Showcases Efforts in Utilizing AI to Support Entrepreneurs at Saudi-Korean Business Forum

The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)
The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)
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SDAIA Showcases Efforts in Utilizing AI to Support Entrepreneurs at Saudi-Korean Business Forum

The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)
The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) participated in a working session centered around innovation and technology during the Saudi-Korean Business Forum in Seoul, South Korea.

Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and a delegation of government and private sector officials are on an official visit to the Korean capital. The visit aims to bolster commercial relations in key economic sectors between both nations, strengthening their economic partnership.

The Saudi-Korean Business Forum is organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At the forum’s Saudi Arabia pavilion, SDAIA showcased the Rowad initiative, a package designed to assist entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia.

The initiative facilitates entrepreneurs and startups in verifying client data electronically by integrating with the National Information Center databases, ensuring top-notch safety, reliability, and supporting entrepreneurs' contributions to the national GDP. It enhances identity uses in emerging sectors and improves facility data quality.

SDAIA also presented plans for the third edition of the Global AI Summit, scheduled for Riyadh in September. Featuring over 250 speakers from across the globe, the summit will delve into AI potentials and its impacts across diverse fields.

SDAIA’s participation in the forum aligns with the Authority’s commitment to fostering partnerships with international entities. Through such collaborations, SDAIA strives to realize its vision of establishing a data-driven national economy, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, and positioning the Kingdom among leading countries in data and AI-driven economies.



IBM Unveils Tech for Chip Smaller than 1 Nanometer in AI Computing Push

FILE PHOTO: The IBM logo is seen during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The IBM logo is seen during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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IBM Unveils Tech for Chip Smaller than 1 Nanometer in AI Computing Push

FILE PHOTO: The IBM logo is seen during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The IBM logo is seen during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

IBM on Thursday unveiled what it said was the world's first technology capable of producing chips smaller than one nanometer, as tech companies race to build semiconductors that can handle increasingly demanding AI workloads.

The announcement comes at a time when chipmakers are searching for ways to maintain the decades-long trend of cramming more computing power into smaller spaces, a phenomenon known as Moore's Law.

The new chip technology, which bolsters IBM's position to compete with contract chipmakers ⁠TSMC and Intel, ⁠has a transistor architecture of 0.7 nanometers, or 7 angstroms, Reuters reported.

Last week, Intel said the new generation of its 18A manufacturing process, which makes 1.8 nanometer chips, moved into risk production, the testing phase before commercial manufacturing.

IBM said the ⁠0.7-nanometer chip packs nearly 100 billion transistors onto a fingernail-sized surface, about twice the density of its 2-nanometer chip unveiled in 2021, delivering up to 50% higher performance or 70% greater energy efficiency.

To get there, IBM developed a new transistor design called "nanostack.”

Instead of laying transistors flat, the design stacks them on top of each other in three dimensions, fitting more into the ⁠same volume ⁠of space.

"With our new nanostack architecture, we’re not just making smaller transistors, we’re reinventing how chips are built to deliver dramatically more power and energy efficiency,” director of IBM Research Jay Gambetta said.

IBM says production could begin within five years. The company has previously licensed chip technologies to Samsung and Japan's Rapidus. It has not announced a manufacturing partner for this technology.


EU Says Amazon, Microsoft Cloud Services Should Face Stricter Rules

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen next to a cloud in Los Angeles, California, US June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen next to a cloud in Los Angeles, California, US June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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EU Says Amazon, Microsoft Cloud Services Should Face Stricter Rules

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen next to a cloud in Los Angeles, California, US June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen next to a cloud in Los Angeles, California, US June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

The EU said Thursday that the cloud services of Amazon and Microsoft should face tougher digital competition rules in Europe because of their dominant position in the sector, AFP reported.

Amazon Web Services and Microsoft's Azure are the largest and second-largest cloud computing services in the European Union respectively. They "will only continue to grow in importance, which is why it is essential that we ensure a well-functioning and competitive market", EU antitrust commissioner Teresa Ribera said.


KSrelief Holds Workshop on AI’s Role in Advancing Humanitarian and Development Work

The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA
The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA
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KSrelief Holds Workshop on AI’s Role in Advancing Humanitarian and Development Work

The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA
The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), organized a two-day workshop titled “Data and Artificial Intelligence in the Humanitarian and Development Sectors: A Saudi-UK Partnership for Leadership and Impact” at its headquarters in Riyadh.

The workshop that started Tuesday was attended by KSrelief Director of Information Technology Eng. Tamim Al-Husain and UK Deputy Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr. Alice Burt.

The event brought together experts from the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), and specialists from KSrelief, SFD, and FCDO.

The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks, facilitated the exchange of expertise, and explored opportunities for future cooperation and partnerships between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom in the field of artificial intelligence to advance humanitarian and development work.

It also highlighted the importance of data and AI in humanitarian and development leadership, reviewed practical applications of AI in humanitarian needs assessments, early warning systems, inclusion efforts, and demographic trend analysis, and examined AI governance and safeguards for the safe and responsible use of emerging technologies.

In addition, participants discussed Saudi Arabia’s approach to leveraging technology in the humanitarian sector and developed a roadmap for the next round of strategic dialogue between the two countries.

The workshop was held as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation and coordination between Saudi Arabia and the UK in data and AI, to advance humanitarian, relief, and development work through the effective use of modern technologies.