Feb 1, 2018

Alphabet and Saudi Arabia mulling plans to build tech hub

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Defence Minister and Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs Mohammed bin Salman. Photo: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

Google parent company Alphabet Inc. and Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant are holding talks about the possibility of constructing a massive technology hub in the country, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: This comes as the country’s 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pushing social reforms and seeking to unleash new investment opportunities to reduce the country’s reliance on oil by diversifying its revenue streams.

What's happening: Alphabet would assist Saudi Arabian Oil Co. in building data centers, but further details of the operation are unclear, per WSJ.

While the Crown Prince has been seeking to usher in more tech opportunities in the kingdom, it's still unclear when or whether a deal will be struck.
A deal would offer Alphabet crucial access in Saudi Arabia at a time when the company is competing with Amazon and Microsoft in providing computing power and cloud storage services.

Go deeper: Big reforms are coming to Saudi Arabia this year

Go deeper

Margaret Harding McGill

39 mins ago - Technology

Big Tech marshals a right-leaning army of allies for antitrust fight

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

As tech's giants prepare to face off with antitrust enforcers this summer, they will draw support from an array of predominantly right-leaning defenders ranging from influential former government officials to well-connected think tanks.

The big picture: The Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the states have multiple investigations of monopolistic behavior underway targeting Facebook and Google, with other giants like Amazon and Apple also facing rising scrutiny. Many observers expect a lawsuit against Google to land this summer.

Go deeper (2 min. read)

Sam Baker

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

John Roberts' long game

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is not the revolutionary that conservative activists want him to be.

He moves slower than they want, sides with liberals more than they want, and trims his sails in ways they find maddening. But he is still deeply and unmistakably conservative, pulling the law to the right — at his own pace and in his own image.

Go deeper (3 min. read)

Caitlin Owens

2 hours ago - Health

The U.S.' new default coronavirus strategy: herd immunity

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

By letting the coronavirus surge through the population with only minimal social distancing measures in place, the U.S. has accidentally become the world’s largest experiment in herd immunity.

Why it matters: Letting the virus spread while minimizing human loss is doable, in theory. But it requires very strict protections for vulnerable people, almost none of which the U.S. has established.