Navya signs Saudi AV MoU; US companies warn of Saudi data law impact
Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
With Saudi Arabia's new Personal Data Protection Law scheduled to come into affect next Thursday, both law firms and US companies are taking issue with the new regulations. A new draft of the detailed regulations was published by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority a few days ago, which has prompted comment.
Meanwhile, last week, French autonomous shuttle bus developer Navya, signed an MoU in Paris with the Saudi Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services. Navya already has half a dozen of its Autonom Shuttle Evo driveless buses in operation in the Kingdom.
Scroll down for more stories below.
Stay safe and have a great day!
/Carrington
Urban Mobility
NAVYA signs MoU with Saudi Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services, for first mile and last mile driverless solutions — www.businesswire.com
#Saudi #urbanmobility - Leading autonomous mobility systems company Navya Group has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services to enable the implementation of autonomous vehicles. (Businesswire)
Startups
KAUST and Saudi British Bank select 11 startups for $1.1m in funding — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #funding - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and Saudi British Bank will pay out $1.1 million in business development funding to 11 innovative startups as part of a Saudi-led enterprise program. Among them, Autlient, a computer vision startup, which will receive $100,000. (Arab News)
Security
Dubai Police's drone-deploying driverless road patrols — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #AVs - Dubai Police Force unveiled a futuristic fleet of driverless vehicles aimed at the World Police Summit in Dubai this week, which took place at Expo 2020 Dubai. (The National)
Drones
Greenbird 3D tests underwater survey and inspection drone at Duqm Port — www.omanobserver.om
#Oman #maritime - Digital firm Greenbird 3D recently carried out underwater survey and inspection tests using an underwater drone at the Duqm Port in Oman's Al Wusta Governorate, in coordination with The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ). (Oman Observer)
Data Law
U.S. companies warn Saudi Arabia new data law could hit investment — www.bloomberg.com
#Saudi #US #datalaw - The US Chamber of Commerce has warned Saudi Arabia that a new privacy and data law will raise the cost of doing business in the kingdom and complicate efforts to attract foreign investors and wean its economy off a dependence on oil sales. (Bloomberg)
Review of draft regulations to Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law — www.tamimi.com
#Saudi #datalaw - Observations by leading law firm Al Tamimi & Company's Nick O'Connell on the new draft regulations for the new Saudi Personal Data Protection Law. (Tamimi)
Education
Qatar's Ministry of CIT and Microsoft officially launch 'national skilling' initiative — www.zawya.com
#Qatar #education - Qatar's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Microsoft have launched a National Skilling Program, which aims to aims to provide 50,000 people with advanced digital and cloud skills. (Zawya)
First Egyptian university college for innovation to be established in Cairo — egyptindependent.com
#Egypt #education - The Education Development Fund of the Egyptian Cabinet announced signing a cooperation agreement with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Foundation, represented by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University College for Innovation (TAGUCI) in Amman, to establish the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University College for Innovation in Egypt. (Egypt Independent)
Abu Dhabi Digital Authority launches new AI initiative with IBM — www.zawya.com
#UAE #training - The Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) and IBM have launched a new series of AI training workshops that have been specifically developed for Abu Dhabi government, beginning with the training of employees from 13 government entities. (Zawya)
Media
AI Journalism World Forum kicks off at UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology — hct.ac.ae
#UAE #media - The second Artificial Intelligence Journalism World Forum (AIJWF) took place this week at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) Dubai. This year's theme was "Media of Metaverse and Covidization of Media Industry".
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