Martin Brenner

💸 Saudi Arabia Launches $10 Billion AI Fund to Become Global Tech Leader

💸 Saudi Arabia Launches $10 Billion AI Fund to Become Global Tech Leader In a bold move signaling its ambition to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has officially launched a $10 billion sovereign Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment fund. The announcement was made at the prestigious Global AI Summit 2025, held in Riyadh, which brought together over 5,000 participants, including heads of state, AI pioneers, tech entrepreneurs, and policymakers from more than 40 countries. The fund is part of Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify its economy beyond oil and foster innovation-led sectors. The newly launched fund will be managed under the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), with strategic allocations toward AI research and development, infrastructure, global partnerships, education, and ethical frameworks. The overarching goal is to position the Kingdom as a global epicenter for responsible and inclusive AI innovation. “This is not just a technological leap—it’s a transformation of our economy and society,” stated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his keynote address at the summit. “With this initiative, we aim to empower our people, attract global talent, and lead the world in creating AI solutions that are human-centric and globally relevant.” The fund will also prioritize strategic alliances with top universities, AI startups, and research institutions worldwide to co-create solutions across critical industries. These include: Energy and Sustainability: Optimizing energy efficiency through AI-driven analytics in the oil & gas and renewable energy sectors. Healthcare: Enhancing diagnostics, treatment planning, and telemedicine capabilities. Logistics and Mobility: Automating and streamlining supply chains, smart ports, and autonomous transportation. Public Services: Deploying AI in governance, e-learning, and smart city services. One of the flagship projects expected to benefit from this initiative is NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion futuristic city powered by renewable energy, cutting-edge robotics, and artificial intelligence. NEOM’s various sectors—from its AI-powered urban planning to its climate-neutral transportation networks—are poised to become a real-world demonstration of the Kingdom’s AI capabilities in action. In tandem, Saudi Arabia has committed to upskilling its youth through national AI education programs, AI-focused university curricula, and specialized training centers aimed at developing local talent and reducing reliance on foreign expertise. Industry experts view this fund as one of the most ambitious national AI initiatives to date. While countries like the U.S., China, and the UAE have been major players in the AI arms race, Saudi Arabia’s entry at this scale signals a significant power shift in the global AI landscape. “With its financial might, strategic vision, and a clear commitment to responsible AI, Saudi Arabia is well-positioned to become a global innovation hub,” commented Dr. Amina El-Badawi, a leading AI ethicist and one of the panelists at the summit. The Global AI Summit concluded with the signing of over 30 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the Saudi government and major tech companies, including partnerships with NVIDIA, Google Cloud, Huawei, and leading European AI labs. As the world enters an era where artificial intelligence will define economic competitiveness and global influence, Saudi Arabia’s $10 billion fund marks a pivotal moment in the nation’s journey from energy dominance to technology leadership.

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🌐 Apple and OpenAI Announce Strategic Partnership to Integrate ChatGPT into iOS 19

News / Martin Brenner

🌐 Apple and OpenAI Announce Strategic Partnership to Integrate ChatGPT into iOS 19 In a groundbreaking move poised to redefine the mobile AI landscape, Apple and OpenAI have announced a strategic partnership to integrate ChatGPT directly into Apple’s upcoming iOS 19 update. The announcement was made during Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2025. The collaboration will enable iPhone and iPad users to access ChatGPT’s capabilities system-wide—without the need for a separate app. Siri will become significantly more powerful, tapping into ChatGPT-5’s conversational intelligence to handle complex queries, summarize texts, and even write emails or generate images via voice command. “This marks a monumental step toward making AI feel invisible, natural, and helpful across every aspect of your device,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman added, “We’re proud to bring the most advanced AI experience into the hands of millions of Apple users. This collaboration will push the boundaries of what’s possible on mobile.” The rollout is expected this fall with iOS 19, supporting devices from iPhone 13 and above. Privacy features remain paramount, with on-device AI processing for basic tasks and encrypted access to OpenAI’s servers for advanced queries.

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A Phenomenal Woman Driving Change and Empowering Education

Blogs / Martin Brenner

Dima Rachid Jamali: Championing Lifelong Learning and Sustainable Leadership Lifelong learning is more than a concept—it is a guiding principle that fuels personal fulfillment, professional advancement, and the pursuit of passion. It stems from our innate curiosity and the human drive to grow, evolve, and stay connected with the world around us. Professor Dima Rachid Jamali, Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Sharjah, exemplifies this philosophy. A staunch advocate for continuous education, Dima believes in engaging with likeminded peers, sharing best practices, and staying ahead of the curve by actively participating in key regional and global conferences, executive workshops, and academic forums. “Lifelong learning has been my motto since the early start of my career.” – Dima Jamali Her Journey to Leadership Prior to her role at the University of Sharjah, Dima Jamali held the prestigious Kamal Shair Chair in Responsible Leadership and served as Professor and Associate Dean at the Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She earned her PhD in Social Policy and Administration from the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. Her academic work has consistently revolved around sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially within developing and emerging economies. Dima has authored or edited seven influential books, including Handbook of Responsible Management (Edward Elgar, 2019), CSR in Developing and Emerging Economies (Cambridge University Press), and Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East (Palgrave, 2015). With over 100 internationally recognized publications, her research has had a broad and lasting impact, especially in the Middle East. Dima also played a central role in establishing and growing the UN Global Compact Network Lebanon, bringing together stakeholders from the private and public sectors, academia, and the United Nations to collaborate on programs promoting inclusion, empowerment, and sustainable development. Global Recognition Dima Jamali’s work has not gone unnoticed. She was named among the top 2% of the world’s most influential scholars in sustainability by Stanford University. Her accolades include the Aspen Institute’s 2015 Faculty Pioneer Award—dubbed “the Oscars of the Business School World” by the Financial Times. She has also received the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility’s CSR Personality of the Year award, the Shield of Excellence for the Arab Region, and the 2010 Shoman Prize for Best Young Arab Researcher. In addition to her research, she serves as President of the Global Compact Network Lebanon and is a member of the UN Global Council for Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME), which she joined in 2020. Dima also contributes to the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), which aims to instill ethical leadership values across sectors. University of Sharjah: A Global Academic Vision The University of Sharjah stands as a distinguished academic institution committed to excellence in education, research, and innovation. With a global perspective and multidisciplinary programs spanning engineering, business, science, communication, and the arts, the university is recognized as a leader in academia across the UAE and GCC. In 2022, it was ranked #1 in the UAE alongside UAEU University by the Times Higher Education Rankings. Its educational model integrates internationally accredited programs and a commitment to shaping 21st-century skills, preparing students to thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape. The faculty is dedicated to fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment that nurtures creativity, critical thinking, and professional excellence. Leadership at the College of Business Administration Since taking the helm as Dean of the College of Business Administration, Dima Jamali has led a transformative journey. Within her first two years, she earned widespread respect from faculty, students, and university leadership. Under her guidance, the college reestablished its AACSB accreditation track and revised its mission and curriculum to align with emerging trends in global business education. She has spearheaded interdisciplinary collaborations with the Colleges of Engineering, Computing, and Arts and Design; initiated and activated multiple strategic MOUs with industry partners; and hosted three high-impact international symposia annually on topics such as innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, and sustainability. Dima has also expanded student development programs, including competitions, extracurricular engagements, and internship opportunities, significantly improving student employability. Her efforts have elevated the college’s international profile, leading to a jump in rankings to become the second-highest-rated business school in the UAE, and gaining recognition as one of the “10 Must Watch Business Schools for 2022” by Higher Education Digest. “The most interesting and happiest part of my daily routine is interacting with faculty and students and forging collaborations with industry.” – Dima Jamali Responding to the Pandemic with Vision The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the global workforce and accelerated the demand for new skills. Dima recognized this shift early on and responded by advocating for curriculum innovation that enhances students’ adaptability and job readiness. Understanding that traditional degrees may no longer suffice in a rapidly evolving job market, Dima emphasized the integration of micro-credentials and the nurturing of essential 21st-century skills within academic programs. These include: Digital literacy: Leveraging technology to provide accessible, high-quality education. Soft skills: Communication, collaboration, adaptability, creativity, and critical thinking. Innovative pedagogy: Transitioning from teaching to facilitating learning using flipped classrooms and personalized instruction. Industry engagement: Offering real-world exposure through internships and corporate partnerships. Social impact mindset: Developing future leaders who are committed to positive change in business and society. Advocating for Women’s Empowerment Dima Jamali is a passionate advocate for gender equity and women’s empowerment. She believes that when women are empowered, everyone benefits. To her, true leadership is rooted in vision, empathy, and collaboration. She emphasizes that women’s participation in decision-making is no longer optional but a necessity. “Women have shown they deserve a seat at every table where important decisions are made,” she asserts, referencing recent global discussions held during the UN General Assembly Week focused on the Global Goals. Still, the road to leadership for women is often filled with barriers. Like many, Dima encountered gender-based challenges early in her career. But she chose to rise above them, echoing the words of Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding

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🚀 Japan’s Kyodo Robotics Secures $120M to Expand Global Warehouse Automation

News / Martin Brenner

🚀 Japan’s Kyodo Robotics Secures $120M to Expand Global Warehouse Automation In a bold move to revolutionize warehouse logistics, Tokyo-based Kyodo Robotics has closed a $120 million Series C funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Mitsui & Co. Ventures, with participation from SoftBank Ventures Asia and Horizon Robotics Capital. Founded in 2019, Kyodo develops AI-driven mobile robots and warehouse orchestration platforms aimed at reducing human error, increasing throughput, and optimizing space utilization in fulfillment centers. “Global e-commerce growth is outpacing warehouse capacity and labor availability,” said Hiroshi Yamamoto, CEO and co-founder. “Kyodo is designing intelligent, autonomous systems that enable 24/7 operations, even in high-demand peak seasons.” 🌐 From Tokyo to the World Kyodo Robotics already serves major clients including Rakuten, Cainiao, and JD Logistics, and has recently begun pilots with European and U.S. logistics players. Its flagship robot, “TORA-X”, integrates advanced LIDAR, computer vision, and reinforcement learning to navigate densely packed warehouses, learn optimal routes in real-time, and coordinate with human workers seamlessly. The platform also includes KyodoOS, a software layer that analyzes workflow data to automatically rebalance task allocation across fleets — much like an air traffic control system for indoor logistics. 📊 Expansion Strategy The company plans to use the fresh capital to build new robot assembly plants in Osaka and Ho Chi Minh City. Kyodo will double its R&D headcount and launch in North America by Q1 2026. It is also entering the cold storage and pharmaceutical warehouse sectors, which demand higher precision and safety standards. “We’re seeing a convergence between robotics, AI, and logistics software that’s redefining what warehouses can be,” noted Leila Burns, senior analyst at Global Robotics Index. “Kyodo is well-positioned as one of Asia’s most promising players in this convergence.” 🧠 Analyst Take As global supply chains continue adapting to labor shortages, e-commerce pressures, and on-demand logistics, Kyodo Robotics exemplifies the next generation of scalable, intelligent automation. By coupling proprietary AI with robust physical platforms, it’s challenging legacy industrial automation players with a nimbler, software-centric approach.

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🚀 Singapore’s Finverse Raises $90M to Revolutionize Cross-Border Fintech Infrastructure

News / Martin Brenner

🚀 Singapore’s Finverse Raises $90M to Revolutionize Cross-Border Fintech Infrastructure Finverse, a rapidly growing fintech infrastructure startup based in Singapore, has announced a successful $90 million Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital India, with participation from Tiger Global, Temasek, and Stripe Ventures. The funding cements Finverse’s status as one of Southeast Asia’s top contenders in the race to build borderless financial rails for digital businesses. Founded in 2020 by former Visa and Ant Financial executives, Finverse offers a suite of APIs and compliance tools that allow fintechs and e-commerce players to scale internationally without regulatory friction. Its real-time identity verification, payment orchestration, and embedded compliance engine now power over 120 digital businesses across Asia, the Middle East, and emerging markets in Africa. “Global fintechs don’t fail because of ambition they fail because of compliance bottlenecks,” said CEO Rohan Mehta. “We’ve turned regulation from a roadblock into a platform.” Powering the Next Generation of Financial Connectivity Finverse’s key differentiator lies in its plug-and-play architecture that simplifies complex international operations for fintech startups, challenger banks, and even traditional institutions looking to modernize. It supports over 42 markets, including India, Nigeria, Brazil, and the UAE all high-growth hubs for fintech innovation. “We see Finverse as the ‘Twilio for cross-border fintech infrastructure’ modular, scalable, and regulation-forward,” said Aarushi Kalra, Principal at Sequoia Capital India. “It’s the missing piece in the global expansion puzzle.” Strategic Impact and What’s Ahead The company plans to use the new capital to scale engineering teams in Singapore, London, and Dubai, and to launch Finverse Nexus, a unified dashboard for real-time compliance and payment monitoring.• It has also announced partnerships with Ripple, GrabFin, and a top-5 African digital bank (undisclosed).• Finverse is positioning itself as a mission-critical player in cross-border B2B fintech, particularly as regulators globally tighten control over digital finance flows. “We’re building the core infrastructure layer that tomorrow’s fintech giants will depend on,” Analyst Insight Finverse represents a wave of infrastructure-first fintechs solving for the complex needs of digital business in an increasingly fragmented regulatory world. As the global economy becomes more digitized and decentralized, companies like Finverse are becoming the new plumbing of the internet economy quietly enabling financial fluidity across borders.

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Microsoft Appoints Lara Chen as Chief AI Officer

News / Martin Brenner

Microsoft Appoints Lara Chen as Chief AI Officer In a bold and strategic leadership shakeup, Microsoft has appointed Dr. Lara Chen, a distinguished AI visionary and former senior executive at Nvidia, as its new Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. The move marks a critical inflection point for the tech giant, reinforcing its ambition to lead the global AI race by embedding advanced intelligence into the core of its products, platforms, and enterprise services. Dr. Chen brings with her a formidable track record in enterprise AI infrastructure, having previously spearheaded large-scale AI deployments and silicon optimization projects at Nvidia. Her leadership there helped redefine how industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and autonomous mobility utilized high-performance computing for next-gen AI workloads. “Microsoft is aligning its leadership with where the industry is headed — AI-first, not AI-enabled,” said Eliana Brooks, Senior Tech Analyst at InnovateX. “This appointment is more than symbolic; it’s an operational declaration of intent.” Chen’s appointment comes as part of a broader realignment within Microsoft’s executive suite, coinciding with the company’s push to expand Copilot, its generative AI platform, across Microsoft 365, Azure, GitHub, and other enterprise applications. Under her leadership, Microsoft is expected to accelerate investments in custom silicon (like Azure Maia chips), foundation model integration, and regulatory-compliant AI frameworks for sectors like finance, health, and education. With competitors like Google (DeepMind), Meta (Llama 3), and Amazon (Bedrock & Titan) aggressively expanding their AI capabilities, Microsoft’s strategic decision to place an experienced AI leader at the top is seen as a move to future-proof its ecosystem and maintain a competitive edge. The company has already committed billions to OpenAI and is widely viewed as a key driver behind enterprise adoption of large language models (LLMs) and industry-specific AI assistants. Dr. Chen, a Ph.D. holder in computational systems from Stanford, is also a vocal advocate for ethical AI and was part of the advisory council on AI policy at the World Economic Forum. Her arrival at Microsoft is expected to further boost the company’s position in discussions around responsible AI deployment, data privacy, and AI governance on a global stage. “We are building not just tools but a trusted ecosystem of intelligence — one that transforms how people work, think, and collaborate,” Chen said in her first public statement since the announcement. Industry insiders are watching closely as Microsoft prepares for its upcoming Ignite and Build events, where Chen is expected to debut new AI strategies and product enhancements. With her appointment, Microsoft is not only strengthening its technical leadership but also sending a clear signal to markets and competitors: the next era of software will be AI-native, and Microsoft intends to lead it.

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