Latest news with #VivaTech
CairoScene
22-07-2025
- Business
- CairoScene
Foreign Startup Registrations Surge 118% in Saudi Arabia
The Riyadi license offers foreign entrepreneurs streamlined access to the Saudi market as part of the Kingdom's push to boost its innovation ecosystem. Jul 22, 2025 Saudi Arabia has reported a 118% increase in foreign startup registrations, with 550 companies receiving Riyadi licenses by mid-2025, according to the Ministry of Investment. The Riyadi license offers foreign entrepreneurs streamlined access to the Saudi market as part of the Kingdom's push to boost its innovation ecosystem. In parallel, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, Monsha'at, issued 364 licenses to accelerators and incubators across the country. These hubs are designed to support startups with infrastructure, investor networks, mentorship, and tools to develop and commercialise new products. The spike in licensing activity follows a record first half of the year for venture capital. Saudi startups secured $860 million across 114 deals, marking a 116% increase in capital and a 31% growth in deal count compared to the same period in 2024. These figures underscore Saudi Arabia's continued dominance as the leading VC destination in the Middle East and North Africa. The growth also reflects broader national efforts to attract foreign startups through simplified procedures and targeted reforms. The Ministry of Investment has introduced eight new business license categories - covering sectors like IT, consulting, hospitality, manufacturing, and mining - that allow 100% foreign ownership and are available through its digital portal. Saudi Arabia's momentum has also been supported by global startup showcases like LEAP, Biban, and participation in events such as Web Summit and VivaTech, reinforcing the Kingdom's efforts to position itself as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Tatler Asia
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Tatler Asia
Robots building robots? Inside Nvidia's bold bet on humanoid machines and the next AI boom
Nvidia is now leading a new wave: robots that learn, adapt, and work alongside humans. With its vision for 'robots building robots,' the company is poised to make science fiction a reality. For years, artificial intelligence (AI) lived solely in the digital realm, relegated to displays and devices. But that boundary is disappearing as companies develop new ways for AI to interact with the real world. Nvidia, the chip giant powering the AI revolution, is betting that the next big leap forward isn't just smarter software but real-world robots—machines that think, move and work alongside us. CEO Jensen Huang calls this the 'ChatGPT moment for robotics', referencing the instant in 2022 when AI went mainstream and changed everything. In case you missed it: What can AI do for beauty? L'Oréal and Nvidia's new collaboration might give us a clue At present, Nvidia's robotics division contributes around US$57 million per quarter—a small fraction of the company's earnings, but one that is growing fast. Year over year, the segment has grown by 72 percent. When combined with the wider automotive business, annual revenue reaches US$1.69 billion. Robotics may only account for 1.3 percent of Nvidia's overall revenue, but Huang sees a multitrillion-dollar future—an insight into the bold, restless mind driving this transformation. This optimism is echoed by Goldman Sachs, which predicts the humanoid robotics market will reach US$38 billion by 2035. Though difficult to imagine today, factors such as ageing populations, potential labour shortages and rapid technological breakthroughs point to a future where robots are no longer the stuff of science fiction but science reality. Nvidia is quietly shaping a future where robots learn and adapt as swiftly as humans. This is made possible by powerful AI 'brains' and a digital environment where robots can rehearse millions of real-life scenarios before ever entering the physical world. In this virtual multiverse, machines practise everything from pouring tea to navigating crowded spaces, improving with every attempt. By enabling robots to train in countless situations at once, Nvidia is compressing what used to take years into mere hours—bringing the dream of smart, helpful machines closer to reality. During Huang's keynote speech at the VivaTech conference in Paris, he introduced Grek, a robot resembling a Star Wars droid, trained to walk and interact with its surroundings within Nvidia's Omniverse. This virtual environment enables it to understand the laws of physics and thousands of different scenarios. Above Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduced Grek during his keynote speech at VivaTech in Paris Factories of the future: Nvidia's vision of robots building robots Huang's vision extends beyond individual robots to entire manufacturing ecosystems. He envisions factories as 'one gigantic robot orchestrating a whole bunch of robots inside, working with people to build products'. This nested approach—'robots building robots building robots'—is what Nvidia calls 'physical AI'. In Huang's imagined future, factories will operate like a single, coordinated machine, where people and robots work side by side to create the products of tomorrow. These adaptable systems are designed to keep industries running smoothly as the global workforce shrinks and demand for smarter, faster production grows. With the ability to shift gears and solve new challenges in real time, such factories promise greater resilience and efficiency. Above This video from the NVidia website showcases the company's vision for the near future The tech giant's reach goes beyond hardware: it is partnering with automakers such as Toyota and Mercedes-Benz to power their next-generation vehicles. Nvidia is also collaborating with Uber to help self-driving cars learn from millions of real-world journeys. Through partnerships like these, the company is laying the groundwork for a future where automation is not only efficient but endlessly adaptable. Read more: From Nvidia's droid to agile humanoids: meet the next-gen robots shaping the future Nvidia's race to lead the global robotics and AI market Nvidia maintains a dominant 70 to 95 percent market share in AI accelerators, though competition remains fierce. Rivals such as AMD, Intel, Amazon, Google and Microsoft are developing alternative solutions. However, Nvidia's CUDA platform remains deeply embedded among developers, creating significant switching costs for companies reliant on its ecosystem. In response to intensifying competition, Nvidia has accelerated its product roadmap, now planning to upgrade its AI accelerators annually—doubling its previous development pace. This aggressive timeline is designed to help the company maintain its technological edge as others catch up. As the 'ChatGPT moment for robotics' approaches, Nvidia is positioning itself not merely as a chip manufacturer but as the foundational infrastructure for humanity's next leap forward: an age of intelligent, adaptable machines working alongside humans to reshape manufacturing, transportation and everyday life.
Newsweek
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Nvidia in for Big Win in China Amid US Tech War
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Nvidia says it expects U.S. government approval to export advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to the Chinese market. The green light would be a breakthrough for the chipmaker after months of navigating controls on semiconductor technology aimed at slowing China's progress on AI technologies with military applications. Newsweek reached out to the White House via written request for comment. Why It Matters China is a critical market for Nvidia, accounting for about 15.5 percent of its business as of April. That month, the White House said a special license would be required to export Nvidia's H20 GPU—a chip widely viewed as having contributed to the development of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek. Just days later, U.S. President Donald Trump said delivery of "all necessary permits" would be expedited after the tech giant announced a $500 billion investment in supercomputer production in the U.S. What To Know Nvidia's new chips, including the Blackwell series and a repurposed H20, are designed to comply with U.S. export rules, the company has said. CEO Jensen Huang continued his public relations offensive last week in Washington, D.C. Jensen Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., attends the VivaTech trade show in Paris on June 11. Jensen Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., attends the VivaTech trade show in Paris on June 11. Getty Images In meetings with policymakers and Trump, Huang pledged that Nvidia remained committed to the administration's efforts to create jobs and bolster onshore manufacturing and domestic AI infrastructure, the company said in a statement published Monday. The government has given assurances that licenses to sell the H20 GPU would be granted, Nvidia said, adding that it hopes to resume deliveries soon. "General-purpose, open-source research and foundation models are the backbone of AI innovation. We believe that every civil model should run best on the U.S. technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America," Huang said. Nvidia shares closed at a record $170.70 on Tuesday after rising more than 4 percent in early trading. What People Have Said Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said during Tuesday's press briefing: "I would like to point out that China's opposition to politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing tech and trade issues and malicious attempts to blockade and keep down China is consistent and clear. These actions will destabilize the global industrial and supply chains, and serve no one's interests." Lia Holmgren, independent trader and trading coach, wrote on X: "$NVDA does it again, this move is unreal. Another all-time high today, and the stock tacked on $200B in market cap like it was nothing. Nvidia's now worth $4.1 trillion, that's 3.6 percent of global GDP." What's Next The resumption of H20 chip exports could unlock billions in revenue for Nvidia, currently the world's largest company by market cap, and shape the contours of the global AI industry, projected to be worth $50 billion by the end of the decade.
India Today
07-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
GitHub CEO says AI won't replace developers because smart companies will now double down on engineers, not cut them
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke has often emphasised that, in the future, AI will not take jobs. Instead, he believes AI will transform professional culture, and software engineers will need to adapt in order to thrive. Once again, Dohmke is standing by his stance and has made it clear that AI won't replace developers—in fact, he suggests that smart companies will be hiring more of on The Silicon Valley Girl podcast during VivaTech in Paris, Dohmke explained how AI is transforming the software industry. He said that AI will not bring change by eliminating jobs, but by elevating the role of the developer and expanding access to software development. 'The companies that are the smartest are going to hire more developers,' said Dohmke. 'Because if you 10x a single developer, then 10 developers can do 100x.'He further emphasised that, rather than using AI solely for cost-cutting, forward-thinking companies are leveraging it to unlock bigger ideas and build at greater scale. Dohmke shared the example that, in the past, building a web app or a website might have required a team of experts. However now AI-powered tools are helping companies, making the creation and maintenance of applications accessible to a much broader group of people. The GitHub CEO sees this as the beginning of a major shift in how software is created—and who gets to participate in it.'There's going to be a much bigger range—from consumer developers who build their own micro apps, all the way to professional developers building advanced AI systems,' he for those concerned about hiring freezes and layoffs in tech, Dohmke believes this is merely a temporary reaction to a rapidly evolving market. 'It's a reflection of a fast-changing market and a lot of uncertainty,' he said. 'But the realisation many companies have had in the last few months is that if we have employees saying, 'we don't want to use AI,' that ultimately means we as a company are no longer set up for success.'GitHub CEO also believes that companies not adopting AI are at risk of falling behind, and that organisations integrating AI into their workflows will be the ones that also suggests that young people have a unique advantage in this transition. 'The biggest upside that young people have is that they adopt new technology much faster,' Dohmke said. He believes the next generation of developers will grow up using AI agents as naturally as Gen Z grew up using smartphones. 'Everyone who wants to learn it can learn it now.'- Ends
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
L'Oréal's AI Weapon Could Kill Traditional Beauty Industry Forever
L'Oréal has announced a major partnership with NVIDIA to deploy generative AI across its beauty ... More empire, creating personalized marketing campaigns and 3D product visualizations that could revolutionize how cosmetics are designed and sold Every industry is finding and deploying use cases for generative AI, from automating routine workflows to designing entirely new products and services. The beauty industry, traditionally always highly tech-focused, is no exception. Now, L'Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics company, has announced a major deal with Nvidia that will supercharge its ambitions to roll out generative AI across its business. L'Oréal is no stranger to AI, and I've been following its progress in the field since 2019. However, it clearly believes the game has moved on and that generative AI, capable of creating entirely new content from existing data, will be hugely significant to its future. Through the partnership announced this month (June) at the VivaTech Paris Expo, L'Oréal will join Nvidia's AI Enterprise microservices ecosystem. One of the first initiatives breaks new ground for the industry by spanning design and marketing functions, bringing 3D product visualizations to life for both marketing and product research purposes. So, is L'Oréal getting set to unleash the ultimate AI glow-up on the industry? And how is the beauty and cosmetics industry as a whole adapting to the game-changing opportunities? Let's take a look. How Is L'Oréal Using Generative AI? L'Oréal's partnership with Nvidia will enable it to scale its CreAItech Generative AI platform, which creates visualizations and assets from product models. The aim here is to reduce the time it takes creative teams to design and render images and 3D models for marketing or research purposes. This process can be automated, enabling its teams to quickly test and iterate different marketing strategies. Images could be personalized for individual customers or for different local markets. Localizing products in this way is hugely important but also resource-intensive for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods, and generative AI promises efficiencies here. Aside from that, the plans announced so far under the partnership focus on laying the foundations for future generative AI initiatives across the company. This takes the form of a new AI development tool called the AI Refinery that will power experiences behind Noli, the AI-powered beauty marketplace recently launched by L'Oréal. This uses the mountains of data on skin types, hair colors and product formulations held by the business to create AI-powered search engines and other consumer-facing tools. Another standout example of L'Oréal's AI innovation is Beauty Genius, its generative AI-powered personal beauty assistant. Designed to tackle decision fatigue in a crowded beauty market, Beauty Genius offers 24/7 personalized guidance based on L'Oréal's proprietary knowledge, dermatological data, and real-time virtual try-on tools. It uses generative AI, augmented reality, and computer vision to recommend routines, answer intimate questions, and help users discover ideal products tailored to their skin tone, hair type, and beauty concerns, all in a secure, private, conversational interface. These are just the early use cases that make up the low-hanging fruit, however. The big picture is that L'Oréal plans to utilize its partnership with NVIDIA to iterate generative AI across various enterprise functions and gain a competitive edge over its competitors. However, they also have their own plans. What Are Other Industry Leaders Doing? Beauty and cosmetics industry leaders have been keen early adopters of AI, and that trend is continuing into the generative AI era. In addition to L'Oréal, we recently saw Estee Lauder partner with Adobe to reduce the time it takes to create and launch digital marketing campaigns, utilizing Adobe's Firefly generative AI platform and its Firefly Services APIs. It also created a Voice-Enabled Makeup Assistant designed to make beauty more accessible for the visually impaired by guiding the user through the application process and suggesting improvements. Unilever has also used generative AI to create "ultra-personalized experiences," such as a virtual scalp therapist for its Dove brand, which provides expert skincare advice. This aligns with trends across other industries, where generative AI is being used to build more personal connections with customers. It also tallies with Salesforce research, showing that 76 percent of marketers now use generative AI for basic content creation, and 63 percent use it to analyze marketing data. Further innovation comes from AI-native startups and scaleups operating in the beauty and cosmetics space. One notable example here is Revieve, which offers a range of AI-powered tools for skincare and makeup over Google Cloud. This means smaller players in the industry that don't have the resources to engineer their own AI infrastructure can still offer AI services to their customers. Generative AI And The Future Of The Beauty And Cosmetics Industry I believe we have only just started to see the tip of the iceberg in terms of the impact of generative AI. Marketing and customer-facing functions often serve as the testbed for these applications. But as businesses become more confident in their AI strategy, we will start to see it used in product design and testing. For example, another generative AI initiative announced by L'Oréal involves building and training a foundation model that it hopes will reduce material and energy waste during the formulation process. As with other industries, we will increasingly see AI used to streamline and drive efficiencies in business processes, from hiring and onboarding staff to compliance and managing legal tasks. And, just around the corner, a new generation of agentic tools and platforms promise to automate even more complex tasks in the next wave of AI innovation. With the emergence of as-a-service tools and platforms, generative AI is no longer restricted to big names like L'Oréal and Estee Lauder. This means the next big disruptive force in cosmetics and beauty could be someone unexpected, and the opportunities are huge for businesses that are ready to ride the wave.
