Saudi Communications Minister Strengthens Global Partnerships in Technology, AI, Space

The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
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Saudi Communications Minister Strengthens Global Partnerships in Technology, AI, Space

The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha held high-level meetings with senior executives from major global companies at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami (FII PRIORITY Miami 2025) to bolster partnerships in technology, artificial intelligence (AI), investment, and the space sector, while promoting entrepreneurship in the Kingdom.

Alswaha met with NEA CEO Tony Florence to discuss strategies for supporting tech entrepreneurs and boosting startup investment, which would strengthen Saudi Arabia’s innovation ecosystem, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

In a discussion with Oracle CEO Safra Catz, he explored avenues to expand cooperation in cloud computing and AI, focusing on strengthening digital infrastructure and advancing the Kingdom’s digital economy.

To accelerate Saudi Arabia’s ambitions in the space sector, the minister met with SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell to discuss space exploration and rocket technology collaboration.

Alswaha also conferred with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son on expanding investment partnerships in technology and AI to drive digital economic growth.

He met with Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert F. Smith to discuss enhancing technology investments, asset management, and startup empowerment, positioning Saudi Arabia as a key destination for tech investment.

The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030.



Adobe Adds AI Models from OpenAI, Google to its Firefly App 

Adobe logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Adobe logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Adobe Adds AI Models from OpenAI, Google to its Firefly App 

Adobe logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Adobe logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Adobe said on Thursday it is adding image-generation artificial intelligence models from OpenAI and Alphabet's Google to its Firefly app and bringing the app to mobile devices.

Adobe is the owner of multiple software programs such as Photoshop and Premiere that are widely used by creative professionals in the visual arts. Since 2023, the San Jose, California-based company has been developing its own AI models in its Firefly service to generate images and video clips, promising its customers that they won't face legal liability for using the images and video created by those models, Reuters reported.

But last year, Adobe said it was open to also offering third-party models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI and others to its user base.

On Thursday, Adobe said that Firefly users will be able to generate images with OpenAI's GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3, Google Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro, in addition to a new version of its own proprietary Firefly image model. The company plans to offer models from partners including fal.ai, Luma and Runway in the coming months.

"We still have lots and lots of customers for whom taking stuff to production, they will only use Firefly because the commercial safety really matters to them," Ely Greenfield, Adobe's chief technology officer for digital media, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

"But for other parts of the workflow, like ideation, they're interested in experimenting with other models as well. So we're making that choice available to them."

Adobe's users will be able to generate content with third-party models in Firefly and pull it over into the company's other apps such as Photoshop with a few taps or clicks. They will be able to pay for third-party models with the same system of credits that they use to pay for Adobe's AI models, though Adobe declined to disclose how the revenue will be split between itself and third-party model providers.