Riyadh to Host Third Edition of Global AI Summit in September

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). (SPA)
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Riyadh to Host Third Edition of Global AI Summit in September

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). (SPA)

The third edition of the Global AI Summit will be held in Riyadh in September under the patronage of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA).

Held from September 10 to 12, the summit will bring together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the future of artificial intelligence.

Riyadh will witness a gathering of international AI technology experts, where participants will exchange ideas and visions for the ethical development and application of AI technologies.

Aligned with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the summit aims to establish the Kingdom as a global leader in AI innovation.

The event will bring together influential figures from across the globe, such as government officials, AI researchers, and technology executives. Notable participants will include Stefan Schnurr, Simon See, Alex Smolla, Julie Sweet, Nick Studer, Cristiano Amon, Amandeep Gill, and Douglas Schmidt, along with other prominent names in the field.

The summit will feature the signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding, as well as the launch of international initiatives aimed at advancing AI development and benefiting countries worldwide.

These initiatives align with Saudi Arabia's aspiration to become a global model for AI leadership and support international efforts in the field.



AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Global data-center dealmaking surged to a record high through November this year, driven by an insatiable demand for ​computing infrastructure to meet the boom in artificial intelligence usage.

Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that there were more than 100 data center transactions during the period, with the total value sitting just under $61 billion.

WHY ‌IT'S IMPORTANT

Interest ‌in data centers ‌has ⁠swelled ​this ‌year as tech giants and AI hyperscalers have planned billions of dollars in spending to scale up infrastructure.

AI-related companies have powered much of the gains in US stocks this year, but concerns over lofty ⁠valuations and debt-fueled spending have also sparked worries ‌over how quickly corporates can ‍turn the investments ‍into profits.

BY THE NUMBERS

Including M&As, asset ‍sales and equity investments, data center investments hit nearly $61 billion through the end of November, already surpassing 2024's record high $60.81 billion.

Since ​2019, data center dealmaking in the US and Canada totaled about $160 billion, ⁠with Asia-Pacific reaching nearly $40 billion and Europe $24.2 billion.

GRAPHIC KEY QUOTE

"High interest comes from financial sponsors, which are attracted by the risk/reward profile of such assets. Private equity firms are eager buyers but are generally reluctant sellers, creating an environment where availability for sale of high-quality data center assets is scarce," said Iuri ‌Struta, TMT analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence.


YouTube Down for Thousands of US Users, Downdetector Shows

The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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YouTube Down for Thousands of US Users, Downdetector Shows

The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Google's YouTube was ​down for thousands of users in the ‌United ‌States ‌on ⁠Friday, ​according to ‌Downdetector.com, Reuters reported.

There were more than 10,800 reports of ⁠issues with ‌the streaming ‍platform ‍as of ‍08:15 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, ​which tracks outages by ⁠collating status reports from a number of sources.

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Outage ‌reports exceeded 1,300 ‍in ‍Canada as of ‍8:29 a.m. ET; and more than 3,000 in the UK of ​8:30 a.m. ET.

YouTube did not immediately ⁠respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The actual number of affected users may differ from what's shown on Downdetector because these reports are user-submitted.

 


Trump Media to Merge with Nuclear Fusion Company that Wants to Power AI

FILE - The download screen for Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, March 20, 2024, in New York.  (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - The download screen for Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, March 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
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Trump Media to Merge with Nuclear Fusion Company that Wants to Power AI

FILE - The download screen for Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, March 20, 2024, in New York.  (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - The download screen for Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, March 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Trump Media & Technology will merge with a fusion power company in an all-stock deal that the companies said Thursday is valued at more than $6 billion.

Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE Technologies CEO Michl Binderbauer.

The combined company says it plans to find a site and begin construction next year on the “world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant,” with aims to provide the electricity needed for artificial intelligence.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology, the parent company of President Donald Trump's Truth Social media platform, have tumbled 70% this year but jumped 20% before the opening bell Thursday.

Backed by Google and other investors, TAE is a private company and the merger with Trump Media would create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.

“We’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations," The Associated Press quoted Nunes as saying in a prepared statement.

TAE focuses on nuclear fusion, a technology that combines two light atomic nuclei to form a single heavier one. It releases enormous amount of energy, a process that occurs on the sun and other stars, according to the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. It's been seen as a promising solution to climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, but one that is a long way off compared to today's clean technologies like wind and solar.

TAE and Trump Media shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the combined company.

Trump is by far the largest stakeholder in Trump Media, owning 41% of all outstanding shares.

In October, the US Department of Energy released what it called a “roadmap” for fusion technology, with the aim of fostering “a burgeoning fusion private sector industry in the US toward maturity on the most rapid timeline.”

A number of tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have shown interest in fusion technology as a way of powering the energy-hungry data centers needed to build and run their AI products.

TAE and Trump Media say the transaction values each TAE common stock at $53.89 per share.

At closing, Trump Media & Technology Group will be the holding company for Truth Social and TAE, along with its subsidiaries TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.