Aramco, Saudi Telecom Join Sequoia in Backing US-Based Startup Graphiant
The venture capital arms of Saudi Arabia's oil and telecom giants have invested in US tech startup Graphiant Inc. as the kingdom seeks to drive innovation and develop its digital economy.
Saudi Aramco 's Wa'ed Ventures and Saudi Telecom Co. 's Tali Ventures put up a combined $19 million in the network connectivity firm, expanding on investments already secured in a $102 million funding round by others including Sequoia Capital, according to a statement.
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Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
The Wiretap: Trump Says Goodbye To The AI Safety Institute
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The Commerce Department's announcement marking the change is thin on details about the reorganization, but it appears the aim is to favor innovation over red tape. 'For far too long, censorship and regulations have been used under the guise of national security. Innovators will no longer be limited by these standards. CAISI will evaluate and enhance U.S. innovation of these rapidly developing commercial AI systems while ensuring they remain secure to our national security standards,' said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. What could be gleaned from Lutnick's paradoxical phrasing – national security-focused standards are limiting, but America needs national security-focused standards – is that it's very difficult to tell just how much the new body will differ from the old one. The announcement goes on to state that CAISI will 'assist industry to develop voluntary standards' in AI, which summed up much of what the old body did. Similarly, just as the AI Safety Institute was tasked with assessing risks in artificial intelligence, CAISI will 'lead unclassified evaluations of AI capabilities that may pose risks to national security.' CAISI will also still be a part of NIST. And, despite Lutnick's apparent disdain for standards, the Commerce press release concludes that CAISI will 'ensure U.S. dominance of international AI standards.' That there's little obvious change between the Institute and CAISI might alleviate any immediate concerns the U.S. is abandoning commitments to keep AI safe. Just earlier this year, a coalition of companies, nonprofits and academics called on Congress to codify the Institute's existence before the year was up. That included major players like OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which had agreements to work with the agency on research projects. What happens to those is now up in the air. 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A Texas police officer searched Flock Safety's AI-powered surveillance camera network to track down a woman who had carried out a self-administered abortion, 404 Media reports. Because the search was conducted across different states, experts raised concerns about police using Flock to track down individuals getting abortions in states where it's legal before going back home to a state where it's illegal. The cops said they were simply worried about the woman's safety. Nathan Vilas Laatsch, a 28-year-old IT specialist at the Defense Intelligence Agency, has been arrested and charged with leaking state secrets after becoming upset at the Trump administration. The DOJ did not specify to which country Laatsch allegedly tried to pass secrets, sources told the Washington Post it was Germany. He was caught out by undercover agents posing as interested parties, according to the DOJ. 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Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
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Hevolution CEO Dr. Mehmood Khan in conversation with GSK Chair Sir Jonathan Symonds In a luxurious conference center buzzing with Nobel laureates, biotech executives and Saudi royalty, one number kept surfacing during presentations: eight billion. Not dollars—though investment figures approached that scale—but people. The potential market for healthspan technologies encompasses every human on earth, creating what might be the ultimate investment opportunity of the 21st century. At the Hevolution Global Healthspan Summit 2025, the world's largest gathering for healthspan science, the discussion wasn't if humans could live longer, healthier lives, but how quickly we could make it happen. "I'm a firm believer, when you put several hundred scientists collectively working in a connected manner in the world, not in any one country, but in the world, from the west to the east, to solve a common challenge, that is how you put a man on the moon," declared Dr. Mehmood Khan, CEO of Hevolution. "That is your moonshot." Hevolution is a first of its kind global non-profit organization incentivizing independent research and entrepreneurship in the emerging field of healthspan science. The urgency behind this global mobilization is clear. Dr. Anshu Banerjee, Director at the World Health Organization, presented sobering statistics: "The number of older people above 60 is going to double by 2050, from 1.1 billion to 2.1 billion, and soon we'll have more people above 60 than under 10." Even more concerning: "Life expectancy is increasing, but healthspan is actually worsening. The increase in healthy life expectancy is not following the same pace as life expectancy overall." Global Lifespan versus Global Healthspan Women face particular challenges in this equation. While they "live longer than men," Banerjee noted they "spend more years in poor health," with the healthspan gap between genders widening since 2002. 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"These are models of disease resistance, healthspan, and lifespan," explained Dr. Vera Gorbunova, whose work on naked mole rats has revealed remarkable cancer resistance mechanisms. Pedro Magalhães, developer of a comprehensive database tracking lifespans across species, argued that understanding "why we live as long as we live" requires examining the evolutionary innovations that allow certain animals to far outlive humans. This approach faces funding challenges, however. Despite promising discoveries, researchers called for "more consortia" and a "big effort in comparative biology of aging" to translate animal longevity secrets into human applications. The unexpected star of the summit wasn't a new compound but an existing class of medications: GLP-1 agonists, originally developed for diabetes and now famous for weight loss. Dr. Christoph Westphal, co-founder of Longwood Fund, made a stunning prediction: "If all of us in this room, within three or four or five years, can prove that with GLP-1s you can extend healthy lifespan, it will actually be the first healthy lifespan increasing drug available. It's going to totally change the world." Westphal's enthusiasm reflects a paradigm shift in longevity research. "If you had told me that you would take something that has an effect in the brain and all over the body, and it's perfectly safe and it actually makes you live longer, I would have said, no way. But that's exactly what a GLP-1 is." The lesson for investors is clear, according to Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju of Samsara BioCapital: "A drug that shows measurable effects in a modest time with a modest number of patients can lead to longer studies for confirmation." The challenge is finding "near- to medium-term measurements that de-risk the investment." Perhaps the summit's most ambitious initiative is already underway in the UK. Professor Rahid Ali's "Our Future Health" program has collected data from over 1.5 million participants, with 1.3 million providing blood samples, making it the "world's largest health research study of its type." By deploying collection points in everyday locations like supermarkets and pharmacies, the program has democratized participation across socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. The goal: five million participants creating an unprecedented dataset that could reveal the early signals of disease and the effectiveness of preventative interventions. Notably, Ali reported that "about 80% of the general population, once they understand the importance of working with industry, are willing to participate" despite growing privacy concerns around health data. "We're investing across the entire value chain, from idea all the way into clinical trials and beyond," explained a senior Hevolution executive. 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In an industry where early adopters could pay millions for unproven therapies, Hevolution's emphasis on global equity stood out. Arthur Caplan, head of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, emphasized that proposals undergo rigorous ethical review centered on one question: "Is the science good, but can it help fulfill the commitment to benefit all?" This principle—extending healthspan advancements to "all of human humanity" rather than creating a longevity gap between wealthy and developing nations—appears foundational to Hevolution's approach. HRH Dr. Haya Al Saud, SVP of Research at Hevolution, outlined the broader societal benefits: "First, we'll be able to reduce healthcare costs. Healthcare spending is skyrocketing worldwide, so this is a crucial and immediate impact. Second, we can tackle the workforce challenge we're seeing today... If we're able to extend healthspan, people can live—and work—longer, in good health." Dr. Haya at Global Healthspan Summit 2025. She also highlighted a surprising social benefit: "Many women leave the workforce because they are the primary caregivers for sick family members. By extending healthspan, we can support and encourage women to remain in the workforce." The summit highlighted how philanthropic organizations are evolving from passive funders to active ecosystem builders. Her Royal Highness Princess Dr. Haya bint Khaled Al Saud described philanthropy as a "catalyst for change" in the healthspan field. Yet Dr. Khan insists that true global access requires commercial involvement: "I do not believe there is an example, other than maybe mass polio vaccine campaigns, where the public sector can, on its own, democratize something. Every example I can think of in democratization has happened because the private sector figured out how to get something into the hands of as many people as possible." He added a historical perspective: "Government invented the internet, the private sector scaled it, and then leveraged it for core commerce." As Dr. Khan concluded the summit, he emphasized that it's not heroic individuals but collective wisdom that will transform aging: "It is not heroes that we are developing. It is the future of this collective wisdom that we're actually investing behind, because it's going to take the village, not a hero." The fundamental question remains: Can we translate scientific breakthroughs into practical interventions that meaningfully extend the healthy human lifespan? The convergence of unprecedented funding, regulatory innovation, massive datasets, and ethical frameworks suggests we're entering a new phase in longevity science—one where theory meets application. Whether the first beneficiaries emerge from clinical trials in Riyadh, research labs in Boston, or digital health platforms in London remains to be seen. What's clear is that the race for extended healthspan has evolved from fringe science to mainstream pursuit. With eight billion potential customers waiting, the winners stand to transform not just healthcare, but the fundamental human experience of aging itself.
Washington Post
4 hours ago
- Washington Post
Bruno Fernandes turns down lucrative Al Hilal offer to stay at Man United
MUNICH — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has turned down a proposed move to Saudi club Al Hilal because he wants 'to play at the highest possible level.' Fernandes confirmed Tuesday that he had received an 'exciting offer' from the Riyadh-based club to switch after what was a disappointing season for United.
