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  • Saudi Arabia exceeding regional headquarters target, says investment minister

    Saudi Arabia has outperformed its target for attracting regional headquarters, with over 180 companies now established in the Kingdom. This number surpasses the initial goal of securing 160 HQs by the end 2023, as disclosed by Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih. In an interview with Bloomberg, Al-Falih emphasized that the regional headquarters program is part of a “long-term journey,” adding that the Kingdom is working with international entities to create the “right ecosystem” to open their offices in Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi Arabia Participates in UNESCO’s 42nd General Conference in Paris

    Minister of Culture and Chairman of the National Commission for Education, Culture and Science Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan leads Saudi Arabia's delegation to the 42nd session of the General Conference of UNESCO, held in Paris between November 7 and 22. The delegation includes representatives of the ministries of culture and education, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, and other national authorities.

  • Masdar, EDF and Nesma partner to build $1bn Saudi solar plant

    A consortium of Masdar, EDF Renewables and Nesma Holding has won a bid for the construction of a 1.1GW solar plant in Saudi Arabia.

    It placed the lowest bid of $16.84 per megawatt-hour to secure the Al Henakiyah solar project from the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC). The consortium of Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, France’s EDF Renewables and Saudi conglomerate Nesma has entered a power purchase agreement with SPPC for a period of 25 years.

  • Saudi wealth fund raises stake in carmaker Aston Martin to over 20%

    The Saudi wealth fund has raised its stake in Aston Martin (AML.L) to 20.5%, a regulatory filing showed on Wednesday, a week after the British luxury carmaker's quarterly results and outlook disappointed investors. Public Investment Fund's (PIF) shareholding has now gone up by 2.6 percentage points from 17.9%, putting it ahead of Geely (0175.HK) Chairman and Chinese entrepreneur Shufu Li on Aston Martin's shareholder list, according to LSEG data.

  • Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Implant Startup Is Ready to Start Surgery

    Elon Musk is preparing for the most consequential launch of his career. But this one isn’t rocket science—it’s brain surgery. Musk’s company Neuralink Corp. is seeking a volunteer for its first clinical trial, meaning it’s looking for someone willing to have a chunk of their skull removed by a surgeon so a large robot can insert a series of electrodes and superthin wires into their brain. When the robot finishes, the missing piece of skull will have been replaced with a computer the size of a quarter that’s meant to stay there for years. Its job will be to read and analyze the person’s brain activity, then relay that information wirelessly to a nearby laptop or tablet.

  • Saudi startups join Monsha’at in exploring Singaporean SME and tech sectors at SWITCH 2023

    Monsha'at led a delegation of Saudi startups — including Ynmo, Nitx, CASHIN, PTway, Soum, Morni, Osarah, and Golyv — from a diversity of sectors, offering the enterprises an opportunity to connect and network with SMEs and investors from around the world. The technology festival — held from 31 October to 2 November 2023 in Singapore — served as a unique platform for innovative startups to showcase their businesses and call attention to the contributions of homegrown enterprises to the Saudi economy, reiterating the growth and development of the Saudi SME landscape.

  • 200,000-year-old hand axe discovered in the northern part of Saudi Arabia

    The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) of Saudi Arabia has announced that archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in AlUla Governorate have discovered a Paleolithic Age hand axe estimated to be more than 200,000 years old. Qurh (AL-Mabiyat) is located near the village of Mugheira, some 20 Kilometers south of the modern town of AlUla.

  • Saudi Aramco VC Fund Backs AI-Powered Cybersecurity Startup

    Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm has invested in SpiderSilk, a United Arab Emirates-based startup that offers AI-powered cybersecurity services. Aramco’s $500 million venture fund, Wa’ed Ventures, took the lead in a $9 million round that included Riyadh-based Saudi Technology Ventures and Dubai’s Global Ventures. The new capital is intended to support SpiderSilk’s technology offerings in Saudi Arabia, the company said in a statement. SpiderSilk has worked with Lenovo Group Ltd., Panasonic Holdings Corp. and parts of Samsung Group, according to its website.

  • Commentary: The Viability of a Partitioned Yemen: Challenges to a Houthi State

    The Houthis simply don’t have the financial resources to support a government, pay salaries, and invest in the infrastructure and rebuilding that will be necessary in a postwar scenario. Nor does the group control the oil and gas fields in Yemen that would allow it to make money on the world markets. This realization is largely what has driven successive Houthi offensives on Marib since 2020. But each time the Houthis came up short, as Saudi air power proved decisive. Now with the war seemingly nearing an end, the Houthis are in a difficult position: The group holds territory but doesn’t have the finances to maintain it. Of course, the Houthis could always make another attempt on Marib after the Saudi withdrawal, but that would almost certainly invite renewed Saudi airstrikes.

  • Neri Zilber: Inside Israeli Politics During Wartime

    We took a hard look at what Israel was at least trying to plan in terms of the endgame, both in exit strategy for its troops from Gaza, as well as what Gaza would look like post-war. And the inclination, at least by some Israeli leaders in the direct aftermath of October 7th, was just to essentially send in the tanks and then figure it out afterward. I think Benjamin Netanyahu's national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, had a line in that first week that said, "We don't know what's going to be in Gaza the day after the war, but we definitely know what won't be in Gaza the day after the war." That's a nice soundbite. As sound policy, it's questionable.