SDAIA Partners with NVIDIA to Boost Saudi Arabia's AI Capabilities 

SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)
SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)
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SDAIA Partners with NVIDIA to Boost Saudi Arabia's AI Capabilities 

SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)
SDAIA announced its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy AI applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced on Tuesday its plan to collaborate with NVIDIA to help developers more easily build and deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications using the "ALLaM" Arabic language model. The partnership also aims to boost the model's effectiveness and expand its capabilities by leveraging NVIDIA's advanced technological expertise.

The announcement was made during the third Global AI (GAIN) Summit, which kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday.

The summit was attended by SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, SDAIA Vice President Dr. Sami bin Abdullah Muqeem, National Information Center Director Dr. Essam bin Abdullah Al-Wagait, and National Data Management Office (NDMO) head Al-Rabdi bin Fahd Al-Rabdi.

The collaboration allows the ALLaM model to benefit from the NVIDIA NeMo platform, part of NVIDIA's AI software, to train language models and make them widely accessible to users, while implementing safeguards to ensure system security.

NVIDIA provides enhanced, user-friendly capabilities that help developers build generative AI applications using the ALLaM model's features, setting a new standard for AI-based language models in the region. It positions the model as a key player in advanced Arabic-language technologies and helps companies access the newly announced NVIDIA NIM.

In addition to these advancements in AI applications, SDAIA will work closely with NVIDIA to boost its supercomputing infrastructure.

Moreover, there are plans that include establishing one of the largest high-performance data centers in the Middle East and North Africa by upgrading the existing infrastructure of SDAIA's NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD, which boasts unique specifications.

The expansion will integrate NVIDIA's most advanced technologies, eventually reaching over 5,000 GPUs. Hence, it will open new horizons for digital innovation and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

By integrating the NVIDIA Triton Inference Server for efficient model deployment and NVIDIA TensorRT software, SDAIA ensures the continuous development of its AI infrastructure, keeping it at the forefront of global technological trends.

Through its collaboration with NVIDIA, SDAIA is co-leading a new era of AI-powered transformation in the Kingdom, further strengthening its leadership in digital innovation on the international stage.



Japan’s Anti-Monopoly Watchdog Accuses Google of Violations in Smartphones 

A woman walks by a giant screen with a logo at an event at the Paris Google Lab on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP)
A woman walks by a giant screen with a logo at an event at the Paris Google Lab on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP)
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Japan’s Anti-Monopoly Watchdog Accuses Google of Violations in Smartphones 

A woman walks by a giant screen with a logo at an event at the Paris Google Lab on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP)
A woman walks by a giant screen with a logo at an event at the Paris Google Lab on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP)

Japanese regulators on Tuesday accused US tech giant Google of violating anti-monopoly laws, echoing similar moves in the US and Europe.

Google Japan said in a statement that it found the action “regrettable.” It said it has invested in Japan significantly to promote innovation as a technology leader.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission’s “cease and desist order” says Google must stop the pre-installation of the Google search engine in Android smartphones, which it said in effect shuts out competition.

It’s unclear if Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., based in Mountain View in the Silicon Valley, will take legal action to fight the order.

In the US, a judge ruled last year that Google’s ubiquitous search engine illegally exploited its dominance to squash competition. Google has denied the allegations, arguing that it’s immensely popular because people like what it offers. The appeals process is likely to take years.

Japanese regulators began their investigation into Google in 2023. They said they consulted with overseas authorities dealing with similar cases.

European regulators have also slammed what they see as Google’s monopolistic dominance.

Tuesday’s move marks the first time the Japan Fair Trade Commission has taken such an action against a major global technology company.