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- In accordance with a five-year agreement with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, Switzerland’s Hashgraph has announced the launch of the DeepTech Venture Studio.
- The non-profit organization dedicated to the development of the Hedera network confirmed that it would be injecting $250 million into the hub.
Hashgraph, the Swiss non-profit organization, has launched the DeepTech Venture Studio in Riyadh with a whopping $250 million investment. This investment is in line with a five-year agreement with the Saudi Ministry of Investment.
Interestingly, Saudi Arabia has been exploring CBDC initiatives using the Hyperledger platform, which was developed by IBM.
The new hub will focus on bringing cutting-edge technology like AI, blockchain, and quantum computing to Saudi Arabia’s innovation scene, as highlighted by crypto commentator Collins Brown.
🚀 #Hedera (#HBAR) launches the DeepTech Venture Studio in Riyadh with a whopping $250 million investment, bringing cutting-edge technology like AI, blockchain, and quantum computing to Saudi Arabia's innovation scene! 💡💥 #TechInnovation #RiyadhTechHub #DeepTechVenture pic.twitter.com/Nbm7IPWUTA
— Marcel Knobloch aka Collin Brown (@CollinBrownXRP) February 6, 2024
In addition to empowering Saudi-based companies, the studio will benefit international companies interested in investing in the kingdom. “The DeepTech Venture Studio will be specially designed to empower local Saudi companies as well as international companies interested in operating in the Kingdom,” the announcement said.
The Saudi Ministry of Investment Association said the initiative will “foster innovative investment opportunities in [Saudi Arabia] through partnering locally and globally to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
In the presence of Their Excellencies, #MISA & Hashgraph association, have signed an MoU during the #SaudiSwissRoundtableMeeting, aiming to foster innovative investment opportunities in KSA through partnering locally and globally to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/E8sfKK49qO
— وزارة الاستثمار (@MISA) February 6, 2024
The government hopes to become the technological hub as it diversifies its investments from its oil, the country’s lifeblood. It is reported that Saudi Arabia plans to spend more than $3.2 trillion to transform its economy by 2030. The kingdom has in recent months been demonstrating its interest in blockchain and Web 3.
Last year, a co-founder of one of its blockchain partners, Animoca, shared his expectations. “Based on our work and communications that we have, Saudi [Arabia] is very, very interested in Web3,” Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu told a leading media outlet. Siu went on to add:
Cryptocurrency is something that is still to be explored. It’s being investigated. I think [Saudi Arabia is] quite forward about how to deal with it. But they haven’t come up with anything yet.
One key aspect of Hedera that could attract the Saudi Arabian government is its role in transforming environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. Hedera’s unique consensus algorithm contributes to its green credentials. According to a recent study by the Centre for Blockchain Technologies at University College London, Hedera uses only 0.000003 kWh per transaction. In comparison, its main rival Ethereum (ETH) consumes 0.009956 kWh per transaction.
Following the recent announcement, Hedera’s native token, HBAR, has enjoyed a rally of nearly 10% to trade for $0.0761. In spite of this impressive gain, the altcoin is nearly 90% below its all-time high of $0.5692, reached two years ago.