SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The fallout from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly at the hands of Saudi officials, has big implications right here at home. The Saudi's have invested billions in Silicon Valley. And while the Trump administration is under pressure to do more, some are pressuring Silicon Valley companies to do more as well.San Jose City Councilman Johnny Khamis went to Saudi Arabia in May to advise on government projects. But he's canceled his next trip scheduled for late November, in protest of the killing of Khashoggi. "I'm concerned about the rights of the media and the freedom to operate around the world," says Khamis, who represents district 10 and who is of Middle Eastern heritage.RELATED: Khashoggi killing puts spotlight on Saudi investments in Silicon ValleyKhamis recognizes the billions of dollars of Saudi money that pour into Silicon Valley, especially into recent high-profile startups like DoorDash, Slack, and Uber. He doesn't want funding to stop, … [Read more...] about Killing of Jamal Khashoggi unlikely to impact Silicon Valley VC funding
Silicon valley
Silicon Valley Startup Accuses China’s Huawei of Stealing Technology
A young Silicon Valley firm called CNEX Labs is suing China’s giant Huawei telecom company for stealing its technology, specifically solid-state drive (SSD) technology used for mass information storage. The suit is actually a legal counterstrike against a suit Huawei filed against CNEX, whose founder Yiren “Ronnie” Huang is a former employee of the Chinese corporation. In essence, CNEX alleges Huawei is using the U.S. court system to steal its technology.The Wall Street Journal described the complex legal battle on Thursday, beginning with the 30-year Silicon Valley career of Ronny Huang, a U.S. citizen born in China. Huang filed a number of valuable patents before catching the eye of Huawei and its Texas-based Futurewei unit. The story got weird when Futurewei hired Huang but proved oddly reluctant to buy his SSD patents outright, even though he was quite willing to sell them. Futurewei took a stab at forcing him to sign his intellectual property away as a condition … [Read more...] about Silicon Valley Startup Accuses China’s Huawei of Stealing Technology
Anand Giridharadas: The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi highlights Silicon Valley’s Saudi hypocrisy
Hamza Shaban, The Washington Post Published 2:09 pm PDT, Friday, October 19, 2018 Author Anand Giridharadas sees the disappearance of a U.S.-based Saudi journalist as a dramatic illustration of Silicon Valley's hypocrisy: While new-age technology companies tout their idealism and world-changing missions, many popular tech firms rely on investments from the government of Saudi Arabia, despite what Giridharadas describes as the kingdom's barbaric politics and suspected involvement in the alleged assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The alleged murder of Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents has ignited a global outrage and entangled the Trump administration in a diplomatic quandary. Turkish and U.S. intelligence officials suspect that Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey on Oct 2, where he was last seen in public. Saudi leaders deny knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance but have … [Read more...] about Anand Giridharadas: The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi highlights Silicon Valley’s Saudi hypocrisy
Amazon creates 1,000 ‘Silicon Valley’ jobs in UK
News / UK and world by Press Association October 18, 2018, 10:03 pm FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter Amazon is to open a new office in Manchester as part of plans to create more than 1,000 research and development jobs across the country. The new site will be located in the city’s Hanover Building in the Northern Quarter, which is set to house 600 highly-skilled workers focusing on software development, machine learning and R&D. As part of the recruitment drive, the online titan will also beef up numbers at its “development centres” in Edinburgh and Cambridge, with the cities seeing 250 and 180 jobs created respectively. Doug Gurr, Amazon’s UK country manager, said: “With the UK taking a leading role in our global innovation, we are delighted to announce plans to create capacity for over 1,000 new highly-skilled roles across the country. “These are Silicon Valley jobs in Britain, and … [Read more...] about Amazon creates 1,000 ‘Silicon Valley’ jobs in UK
New York Times: ‘Silicon Valley’s Saudi Arabia Problem’
The New York Times recently published an article titled “Silicon Valley’s Saudi Arabia Problem,” which investigates tech companies’ willingness to ignore human rights violations by major Saudi investors. In an article titled “Silicon Valley’s Saudi Arabia Problem,” the New York Times outlines how liberal Silicon Valley tech firms struggle with the issue of taking money from Saudi Arabian investors while ignoring the countries many human rights violations. The article begins by noting that Silicon Valley startups such as WeWork, DoorDash, Wag, and Slack all wouldn’t exist without investments from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The article states: Long before the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi vanished, the kingdom has sought influence in the West — perhaps intended, in part, to make us forget what it is. A medieval theocracy that still beheads by sword, doubling as a modern nation with … [Read more...] about New York Times: ‘Silicon Valley’s Saudi Arabia Problem’