AI Chip Startup Groq Secures $1.5 Billion Investment From Saudi Arabia

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 11, 2025

Groq, a U.S.-based AI semiconductor startup, has secured a $1.5 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand its advanced AI chip delivery in the country. The startup, founded by a former Alphabet AI chip engineer, specializes in AI inference chips that optimize speed and execute commands for pre-trained models.

Groq already has a partnership with Aramco Digital, the tech arm of oil giant Aramco, through which they developed a key AI hub in the region in December. The investment will fund the expansion of Groq’s data center in Dammam, with the startup having obtained the necessary licenses to export its chips despite U.S. export controls.

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The announcement was made at Saudi Arabia’s LEAP 2025 event, where the country also secured $14.9 billion in AI investments. One of the technologies supported by the Dammam Center is Allam, an AI language model developed by the Saudi government that operates in both Arabic and English.

In August, Groq raised $640 million in a funding round led by Cisco, Samsung, and BlackRock, bringing its valuation to $2.8 billion.

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EU-U.S. Trade In 2025: Surpluses, Shifting Flows And Strategic Ties

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 27, 2026

Trade Overview And Robust Growth

In 2025, the European Union exported goods worth €554.0 billion to the United States and imported €354.4 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of €199.6 billion. Exports increased 3.4% year over year, while imports rose 4.8%, reflecting continued strength in transatlantic trade flows.

Fluctuating Quarterly Trends

Trade activity varied across the year. The first quarter recorded strong growth in both exports and imports, supported by higher demand in U.S. markets. The second quarter showed a decline, followed by limited recovery in imports during the third quarter, while exports edged lower. By the fourth quarter, both exports and imports declined, indicating softer momentum toward year-end.

Sectoral Highlights And Product Leadership

According to the Standard International Trade Classification, the five largest product groups accounted for 53.0% of EU exports to the United States. Medicinal and pharmaceutical products led with a 29.0% share, followed by road vehicles (7.5%), general industrial machinery and equipment (5.9%), electrical machinery and parts (5.8%), and power-generating machinery (4.8%).

On the import side, medicinal and pharmaceutical products also ranked first at 17.0%, followed by petroleum and related materials (11.2%), power-generating machinery and equipment (9.4%), natural and manufactured gas (7.9%), and other transport equipment (6.6%).

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Foreign Direct Investment And Geopolitical Connectivity

The scale of EU-U.S. trade highlights the strategic importance of the American market for Europe and its broader investment links. Data from the Central Bank of Cyprus show that the United States remained one of Cyprus’ key foreign direct investment partners in 2024, alongside major European economies.

The report notes that while Europe remained Cyprus’ largest FDI partner overall, net FDI stock declined due to a sharper reduction in outward investment, primarily linked to equity instruments and, to a lesser extent, debt instruments.

Special purpose entities continued to influence investment flows, contributing to parallel movements in inward and outward FDI. Despite negative net FDI transactions and income in 2024, inward and outward rates of return improved to 7.8% from 6.7% a year earlier, reinforcing Cyprus’ role as a regional financial services hub.

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