Kneron lands $2 million grant for Saudi expansion
NTDP's RELOCATE Initiative attracts global semiconductor firm Kneron
#SaudiArabia #funding - San Diego-headquartered on-device AI inferencing startup Kneron has secured a $2 million non-equity grant from Saudi Arabia's National Technology Development Program (NTDP), supporting the firm's strategic entry into the Middle East market. The US startup, backed by investors including Sequoia Capital and Qualcomm, joined the NTDP’s RELOCATE initiative to establish an AI chip research and development hub in Riyadh. Kneron specialises in lightweight neural processing units for on-device intelligence and it aims to accelerate commercialisation of its reconfigurable AI chips across enterprise and smart city applications in the region.
SO WHAT? - Kneron announced in January that it is establishing a Riyadh subsidiary in Riyadh partnership with Saudi Arabia’s National Semiconductor Hub (NSH) and National Technology Development Program (NTDP). This month’s announcement confirms the grant size and that the company has joined the NTDP’s RELOCATE programme, which aims to attract at least 50 semiconductor design companies to the Kingdom. Supply chain authentication and security specialist Qara, customer loyalty platform Merit and Japanese drone firm Terra Drone are among the existing participants in the RELOCATE programme
Some key details about this announcement:
On-device AI inferencing startup Kneron has secured a $2 million non-equity grant from Saudi Arabia's National Technology Development Program (NTDP) under its RELOCATE programme.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s NTDP RELOCATE programme aims to attract 50 semiconductor design companies and develop 20,000 AI professionals by 2030.
Kneron will establish a technology hub in Saudi Arabia for advanced AI chip research and development, building on its existing partnership with the National Semiconductor Hub.
The US startup is setting up a local subsidiary in Riyadh to serve Middle Eastern customers and contribute to Saudi Arabia's technological sovereignty ambitions
Knweron specialises in reconfigurable Neural Processing Units that enable energy-efficient, on-device AI processing for applications including smart cities and enterprise systems
Kneron's backers include prominent investors Sequoia Capital, Qualcomm and Foxconn. The company plans to introduce its edge AI technologies into key Saudi sectors including enterprise AI, smart cities, and digital transformation initiatives
ZOOM OUT - Saudi Arabia’s National Semiconductor Hub (NSH) is a cornerstone initiative designed to create a local semiconductor industry. Launched at the Future of Semiconductors Forum last year, the NSH is backed by a SAR 1 billion ($266.6m) technology fund, supported by deep tech venture capital firms. Its primary aim is to attract 50 world-class chip design companies to Saudi Arabia by 2030. The initiative also includes a strategy to recruit 25 international semiconductor experts and train 5,000 engineers, ensuring the development of a skilled workforce.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Read more about Saudi Arabia’s deep tech ecosystem:
NEOM backs MemryX to scale Edge computing AI chips (Middle East AI News)
Kneron to open Riyadh subsidiary (Middle East AI News)
Saudi deep tech startups raise more than $100m since 2020 (Middle East AI News)
Hashgraph to launch Saudi DeepTech Venture Studio (Middle East AI News)
DeepMinds to build deep tech clusters (Middle East AI News)