South Korea has taken another step in its push to become a global Artificial Intelligence heavyweight, signing a sweeping agreement with SoftBank’s Arm Holdings to strengthen the country’s semiconductor and AI sectors.

The deal, announced Friday by a presidential policy adviser, underscores Seoul’s determination to raise its profile in advanced chip design and secure talent needed for a future heavily driven by AI.

Kim Yong-beom, the adviser who briefed reporters, said the memorandum of understanding includes a plan for Arm to establish a chip design school inside South Korea. The initiative is designed to train about 1,400 high-level chip design specialists, filling a gap that has long dogged Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The country has built a dominant position in memory chips through giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, yet it has struggled to grow equally strong system-semiconductor and fabless industries.

Officials say that weakness could become an obstacle as global AI competition intensifies.

Arm, a British chip and software company controlled by SoftBank, earns revenue by licensing chip architectures used in everything from smartphones to servers. Its role in the global semiconductor ecosystem expanded even further as AI companies began building models on increasingly complex computing stacks. Korean officials believe that having Arm embed a chip design curriculum locally could accelerate the country’s transition from a memory-centric industry to one capable of competing across the full semiconductor value chain.

The agreement came after SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday. According to Kim, Son told the president that demand for chips will rise sharply as AI advances. Son also pointed to a serious weakness that South Korea will have to confront: energy supply. He said the country does not have enough energy capacity to support the scale of AI developments coming down the line.

Son has become one of the highest-profile evangelists of hyper-advanced AI. On Friday, he repeated his view that AI will surpass human intelligence, going far beyond the boundaries set by current systems. He said so-called Artificial Superintelligence would be “10,000 times smarter than people” and argued that it no longer made sense to believe humans could control, instruct, or manage AI. Instead, he urged societies to focus on learning how to coexist with this next phase of machine intelligence.

The meeting with Son fits into a string of high-level conversations Seoul has held with global tech giants as it tries to vault into the top tier of AI powers. President Lee has also met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in recent months, signaling a coordinated strategy to intertwine South Korea’s industrial base with the world’s leading AI companies.

South Korea’s biggest firms are already building out relationships tied to AI infrastructure. In October, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centers, supporting the company’s Stargate project. Stargate is a private initiative backed by SoftBank and Oracle that aims to build massive next-generation data centers for AI workloads.

Son is expected to meet SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won later on Friday to discuss semiconductor and AI cooperation, according to the Donga Ilbo newspaper. SK Group declined to comment on the report.

The AI race in Korea has also attracted Nvidia, whose chips currently underpin most state-of-the-art AI models. In late October, Nvidia said it would supply more than 260,000 of its most advanced AI chips to the South Korean government as well as major Korean corporations, including Samsung Electronics. The move was welcomed by Seoul, which sees access to cutting-edge chips as essential for its domestic tech ecosystem.

The Arm deal lands at a moment when global tech alliances have become as important as domestic industrial policy. Seoul’s ambition to be one of the world’s top three AI powers depends not only on innovation at home but also on tapping global expertise and stitching itself into the worldwide supply and development chain. Arm’s chip design school is intended to create a local generation of engineers who can contribute to advanced architectures rather than simply manufacture components invented overseas.

The deal also diversifies the country’s partnership portfolio. For decades, South Korea’s semiconductor sector focused on scaling memory and competing with Taiwan’s TSMC in high-end fabrication. The new agreement, combined with Seoul’s outreach to companies like OpenAI, Nvidia, and Oracle, marks a shift toward a broader strategy that blends infrastructure, design capability, data-center development, and AI model research.

Officials are framing the agreement with Arm as a foundational step. Kim said the training programme would support long-term ambitions that hinge on building a balanced semiconductor ecosystem able to produce chips tailored for next-generation AI systems, rather than only memory modules. Analysts expect this kind of development to become critical as AI models multiply in size, energy demands climb, and countries fight to secure both talent and core intellectual property.

Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Paribu announced it has acquired a majority stake in CoinMENA, the leading Sharia-compliant crypto platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The transaction values CoinMENA at up to $240 million, marking Turkey’s largest fintech acquisition to date and its first cross-border purchase of a digital asset platform.

Paribu, founded in 2017 and Turkey’s top crypto exchange with over 10 million users, is acquiring a controlling stake in CoinMENA. CoinMENA, established in 2020 by Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sam’an, operates as a regulated crypto service provider serving 1.5 million users across 45 countries, with support for over 50 cryptocurrencies and local fiat on-ramps.

The deal is valued at up to $240 million, though exact terms weren’t disclosed publicly. CoinMENA had previously raised about $20 million from investors like BECO Capital, Arab Bank Switzerland, Circle Ventures, and Bunat Ventures.

Through CoinMENA, Paribu secures two high-value regulatory licenses: From the Central Bank of Bahrain issued in early 2021. From Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority VARA, issued in late 2023. These enable compliant operations in two crypto-friendly hubs, bypassing years of licensing delays and positioning Paribu as a multi-jurisdictional player in MENA—a region with surging crypto adoption.

Paribu’s move is a calculated play to bridge Turkey’s vibrant but domestically focused crypto market where it handles billions in monthly volume with MENA’s growth potential.

CEO Yasin Oral described it as “opening a new chapter in Paribu’s growth journey,” emphasizing how the licenses create a “regulated player in one of the world’s most crypto-adoptive markets.”

CoinMENA’s co-founder Talal Tabbaa called it the “most transformative milestone” for the platform, validating its Sharia-compliant model amid rising demand for Islamic finance-aligned crypto services.

Sharia-compliant cryptocurrencies—often called “halal crypto”—are digital assets designed to align with Islamic principles, prohibiting riba (interest), gharar (excessive uncertainty), maysir (gambling), and haram (forbidden) activities like alcohol or pork-related ventures.

As of December 2025, this niche is exploding, driven by the 1.9–2 billion global Muslim population seeking ethical alternatives in a $3+ trillion crypto market. Adoption surged 40% year-over-year in MENA and Southeast Asia, fueled by regulatory green lights and platforms like HAQQ Network and Binance.

The sector’s value hit $8 billion in 2025, up from $4.5 billion in 2024, with projections to $12.45 billion by 2028. MENA alone saw $390 billion in crypto flows from mid-2023 to mid-2025, but halal options lag behind demand—only 5–10% of tokens are certified, creating a “supply crunch.”

Muslim-majority markets like Indonesia and UAE lead adoption, with 10–15% of locals holding crypto. This ties into the $4 trillion Islamic finance opportunity, where blockchain tokenizes sukuk for fractional, transparent ownership.

Projects like Caiz emphasize “fair finance for all,” warning against speculative “gambling” tokens while highlighting riba-free DeFi. Bitcoin (BTC) tops lists as “digital gold” for its scarcity and decentralization; Ethereum (ETH) follows for utility in non-interest DeFi.

Niche tokens like Islamic Coin (ISLM) on HAQQ Network donate 10% of supply to charity and support 6M+ users. Others include gold-backed HelloGold and Caiz Coin. Screening focuses on asset-backing (e.g., real estate or gold), transparency, and fatwas from scholars.

Tools like Saraf Screening and Halal Crypto Guide vet 50+ coins quarterly, flagging issues like interest-based staking in MakerDAO (MKR). Real-world assets (RWAs) like tokenized sukuk in Gulf nations are booming, offering yields via profit-sharing, not interest.

Binance’s Sharia Earn launched in July 2025 offers certified halal staking for BNB, ETH, and SOL in 25+ countries, certified by Amanie Advisors—praised on X as a “game-changer” for inclusion. Bybit added interest-free accounts for 18 coins. Emerging wallets like SidEx integrate AI for zakat calculations and traceable transfers.

Paribu’s $240M buy of CoinMENA secured Bahrain/Dubai licenses, expanding Sharia services to 1.5M users across 45 countries. Theological variances by region; need for standardized governance. Solutions include scholar-blockchain teams for audits.

This is the convergence of faith, tech, and finance is democratizing wealth for underserved communities, with RWAs and AI tools accelerating inclusion. On X, sentiment is bullish: “We’re entering the era of Halal DeFi.”

This acquisition signals accelerating consolidation in global crypto, for Turkey It cements Paribu’s role as a regional powerhouse, potentially exporting Turkish liquidity and tech to MENA while diversifying away from local economic volatility.

For MENA, expect enhanced infrastructure for cross-border trading, with Paribu’s scale like advanced trading tools boosting CoinMENA’s offerings. It also highlights the UAE and Bahrain as “license magnets” for global players.

Amid regulatory clarity in places like Dubai, deals like this advised by firms such as Areta underscore how acquisitions are faster routes to compliance than organic licensing. Similar to Binance’s regional pivots or OKX’s UAE push, it could spur more Turkish-MENA fintech ties.