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

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

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.

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.

Cyprus Fuel Prices Jump 20.5% As Energy Costs Rise Across The EU

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

Cyprus recorded a 20.5% year-on-year increase in the prices of fuels and lubricants for personal transport in May 2026, according to Eurostat data released on Monday.

The increase was broadly in line with the European Union average of 20.7%, with fuel and lubricant prices rising across all EU member states during the period.

Cyprus Tracks The EU Average

Among EU countries, the largest annual increases were recorded in Bulgaria (33.9%), Luxembourg (32.2%), Lithuania (30.8%) and Romania (30.4%). At the other end of the scale, Hungary registered the smallest increase at 3.5%, while annual growth ranged from 12.7% in Poland to 29.2% in France across the remaining member states.

Eurostat noted that fuel and lubricant prices generally declined across the EU until February 2026 before moving higher in subsequent months.

Diesel And Petrol Follow Different Paths

Across the European Union, diesel prices increased by 29% in May 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, while petrol prices rose by 16.2%. Monthly trends, however, were more mixed. Between April and May 2026, diesel prices across the EU fell by 5.8%, whereas petrol prices increased by 0.8%.

In Cyprus, diesel prices declined by 1.5% over the same period. Although lower than in April, the decrease was less pronounced than in Germany (-11.9%), Greece (-8.5%), Estonia (-8.4%) and Ireland (-8.1%).

Petrol prices moved in the opposite direction, rising by 2.1% between April and May. A similar pattern was observed across much of the EU, with 23 member states reporting monthly increases. Italy recorded the largest monthly rise in petrol prices at 6.9%, while decreases were reported in Germany (-5.6%), Ireland (-2.0%) and Sweden (-0.7%).

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