Digital cooperation

Scale AI expands into Saudi Arabia and UAE

Scale AI, a San Francisco-based startup backed by Amazon, plans to open a new office in Riyadh by the end of the year as part of its broader Middle East expansion.

The company also intends to establish a presence in the United Arab Emirates, although it has yet to confirm the timeline for that move.

Trevor Thompson, the company’s global managing director, said the Gulf is among the fastest-growing regions for AI adoption outside of the US and China.

Gulf states like Saudi Arabia have been investing heavily in tech startups, data centres and computing infrastructure, urging companies to set up local operations and create regional jobs. Salesforce, for instance, has already begun hiring for a $500 million investment in the kingdom.

Founded in 2016, Scale AI provides data-labelling services essential for training AI products, relying on a vast network of contract workers. Its clients include OpenAI and Microsoft.

The company hit a $13.8 billion valuation last year after a $1 billion funding round backed by Amazon, Meta and others.

In 2024, it generated about $870 million in revenue and is reportedly in talks for a deal that could nearly double its value.

Scale AI is also strengthening its regional ties. In February, it signed a five-year agreement with Qatar to enhance public services, followed by a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Inception in March.

The news coincides with former President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, where his team is considering lifting export controls on advanced AI chips, potentially boosting the Gulf’s access to cutting-edge technology.

Notably, Scale AI’s former managing director, Michael Kratsios, now advises Trump on tech matters.

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Microsoft and OpenAI rework billion dollar deal

OpenAI and Microsoft are renegotiating the terms of their multibillion-dollar partnership in a move designed to allow the ChatGPT maker to pursue a future public listing, while ensuring Microsoft retains access to its most advanced AI technology.

According to the Financial Times, the talks are centred around adjusting Microsoft’s equity stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm.

The software giant has invested over US$13 billion in OpenAI and is reportedly prepared to reduce its stake in exchange for extended access to AI developments beyond the current 2030 agreement.

The revisions also include changes to a broader agreement first established in 2019 when Microsoft committed US$1 billion to the partnership.

The restructuring reflects OpenAI’s shift in strategy as it prepares for potential independence from its largest investor. Recent reports suggest the company plans to share a smaller portion of its future revenue with Microsoft, instead of maintaining current terms.

Microsoft has declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations, and OpenAI has yet to respond.

The talks follow Microsoft’s separate US$500 billion joint venture with Oracle and SoftBank to build AI data centres in the US, further signalling the strategic value of securing long-term access to cutting-edge models.

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Starkville Utilities hit by cyberattack

Starkville Utilities, a Mississippi-based electricity and water provider that also services Mississippi State University, has revealed a data breach that may have exposed sensitive information belonging to over 11,000 individuals.

The breach, which was first detected in late October last year, led the company to disconnect its network in an attempt to contain the intrusion.

Despite these efforts, an investigation later found that attackers may have accessed personal data, including full names and Social Security numbers. Details were submitted to the Maine Attorney General’s Office, confirming the scale of the breach and the nature of the data involved.

While no reports of identity theft have emerged since the incident, Starkville Utilities has chosen to offer twelve months of free identity protection services to those potentially affected. The company maintains that it is taking additional steps to improve its cybersecurity defences.

Stolen data such as Social Security numbers often ends up on underground marketplaces instead of staying idle, where it can be used for identity fraud and other malicious activities.

The incident serves as yet another reminder of the ongoing threat posed by cybercriminals targeting critical infrastructure and user data.

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Apple explores AI search as Google deal faces questions

Apple is reportedly exploring a move towards integrating AI-powered search within its Safari browser, as questions mount over the future of its partnership with Google. Cue made the comments during his testimony in the US Department of Justice’s antitrust trial against Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Senior Vice President Eddy Cue revealed the company is considering collaborations with AI search leaders such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity, amid a broader shift in user behaviour towards AI tools.

Safari recently experienced its first decline in search usage, a trend attributed to users adopting AI-driven search solutions. While Apple currently integrates ChatGPT into Siri and plans to add Google’s Gemini, the company remains cautious about replacing Google as the default search engine.

Cue acknowledged the financial benefits of the $20 billion annual deal with Google and expressed concerns over jeopardising the partnership. Discussions continue as Apple balances innovation with maintaining its lucrative search agreement with Google.

Despite this, Cue predicts AI search engines could eventually surpass traditional models. Apple has also evaluated other AI technologies, including DeepSeek and xAI’s Grok, highlighting its growing interest in generative AI.

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China launches advanced Tianji 4.0 quantum control system

A Chinese startup, Origin Quantum, has unveiled Tianji 4.0, a cutting-edge superconducting quantum measurement and control system capable of supporting quantum computers with over 500 qubits.

Built in Hefei, Tianji 4.0 enhances scalability, integration, stability and automation, offering major advances over its previous version that powered China’s third-generation superconducting quantum computer, Origin Wukong.

The system, described as the ‘nerve centre’ of quantum computers, improves the precision and speed of controlling quantum chips.

Kong Weicheng, who leads the development team, highlighted that Tianji 4.0 will streamline quantum computer R&D and accelerate delivery timelines significantly.

Since launching in early 2024, Origin Wukong has served users in 139 countries, completing more than 380,000 tasks across industries such as finance and biomedicine. The release of Tianji 4.0 signals China’s growing leadership in quantum computing technology.

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OpenAI launches data residency in India for ChatGPT enterprise

OpenAI has announced that enterprise and educational customers in India using ChatGPT can now store their data locally instead of relying on servers abroad.

The move, aimed at complying with India’s upcoming data localisation rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, allows conversations, uploads, and prompts to remain within the country. Similar options are now available in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

Data stored under this new residency option will be encrypted and kept secure, according to the company. OpenAI clarified it will not use this data for training its models unless customers choose to share it.

The change may also influence a copyright infringement case against OpenAI in India, where the jurisdiction was previously questioned due to foreign server locations.

Alongside this update, OpenAI has unveiled a broader international initiative, called OpenAI for Countries, as part of the US-led $500 billion Stargate project.

The plan involves building AI infrastructure in partner countries instead of centralising development, allowing nations to create localised versions of ChatGPT tailored to their languages and services.

OpenAI says the goal is to help democracies develop AI on their own terms instead of adopting centralised, authoritarian systems.

The company and the US government will co-invest in local data centres and AI models to strengthen economic growth and digital sovereignty across the globe.

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Palantir and partners promise rapid AI deployment in banking

Palantir Technologies, xAI, and TWG Global have announced a new partnership aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence across the financial services industry. The initiative promises faster deployment and measurable results within just 90 days.

The collaboration seeks to help financial institutions integrate AI into their core operations. As financial institutions strive to modernise, the companies aim to overcome what they call the ‘agentic tech debt bubble’ and deliver real, scalable value.

The offering combines Palantir’s platform, xAI’s advanced language models, and TWG Global’s operational expertise, including a Governance Foundation for data readiness and a suite of AI-driven tools.

TWG Global will lead implementation efforts, focusing on involving senior executives directly to ensure AI integration becomes a central business strategy rather than a sidelined tech project. The partnership builds on an earlier venture between Palantir and TWG Global.

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Apple may replace Google with AI in Safari

Apple may soon reshape how users search the web on iPhones and other devices by integrating AI-powered search engines directly into Safari instead of relying solely on Google.

According to Bloomberg, the company is ‘actively looking at’ expanding options in its browser to include AI systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity, potentially disrupting Google’s long-held dominance in online search.

Currently, Google pays Apple around $20 billion a year to remain the default search engine in Safari — about 36% of the search ad revenue generated through Apple devices. But that relationship may be under pressure, especially as AI tools gain popularity.

Apple has already partnered with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT into Siri, while Google is now pushing to include its Gemini AI system in future Apple products.

Alphabet’s shares dropped 6% following the news, while Apple saw a 2% dip. Apple executive Eddy Cue, testifying in an ongoing antitrust case, noted a recent decline in Safari searches and said he expects AI search tools to eventually replace traditional engines like Google.

Apple, he added, plans to introduce these AI services as built-in alternatives in Safari in the near future.

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Irish startup launches first silicon quantum computer

An Irish startup, Equal1, has unveiled the world’s first silicon-based quantum computer designed to integrate smoothly into existing data centres instead of requiring entirely new infrastructure.

Named Bell-1, the compact six-qubit device is built to slot directly into standard server racks, weighing just over 200 kilograms and roughly matching the size of a conventional GPU server.

Its standout feature is a self-contained cooling unit that maintains a temperature of 0.3 kelvin without external cryogenics, making it far more practical to deploy than traditional quantum machines.

Bell-1 relies on silicon-based spin qubits instead of more common trapped-ion or superconducting qubits, allowing it to take advantage of existing semiconductor fabrication methods. This choice results in smaller, more scalable components and paves the way for greater qubit density.

The UnityQ chip at the system’s core combines quantum processor units (QPUs), Arm CPUs, and neural processing units (NPUs), eliminating the need for complex coordination between classical and quantum systems — it can be plugged into a power outlet and used like conventional hardware.

The platform includes built-in error correction and AI-powered controls developed in partnership with Arm, helping reduce errors and increase operational speed. Even though this first-generation chip supports just six qubits, Equal1 plans to scale up future versions.

Instead of replacing the entire system, early adopters will be able to upgrade existing installations, ensuring long-term relevance and smoother adoption of more advanced models.

Equal1’s breakthrough builds upon performance records it set in late 2024, where its silicon qubit arrays demonstrated the highest gate fidelity and speed ever recorded.

Bell-1 marks a significant leap forward by offering quantum capabilities without the barriers typically associated with quantum hardware, bringing the technology closer to practical use in traditional computing environments.

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UK police struggle to contain online misinformation

Sir Andy Cooke has urged that Ofcom be granted stronger powers to swiftly remove harmful online posts, particularly misinformation linked to public unrest. He criticised delays in tackling false content during the 2024 riots, which allowed damaging narratives to spread unchecked.

The UK Online Safety Act, though recently passed, does not permit Ofcom to delete individual posts. Ofcom acknowledged the connection between online posts and the disorder but stated it is responsible for overseeing platforms’ safety systems, not moderating content directly.

Critics argue this leaves a gap in quickly stopping harmful material from spreading. The regulator has faced scrutiny for its perceived lack of action during last summer’s violence. Over 30 people have already been arrested for riot-related posts, with some receiving prison sentences.

Police forces were found to have limited capability to counter online misinformation, according to a new report. Sir Andy stressed the need for improved policing strategies and called for legal changes to deter inflammatory online behaviour.

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