Sovereign wealth funds from Middle East become investors in AI firms

2024-09-23 09:45:04

(MENAFN) Sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East are becoming significant investors in prominent Silicon Valley artificial intelligence companies.

Wealthy oil nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar are seeking to diversify their economies by investing in technology. Funding for AI companies from Middle Eastern sovereign funds has surged fivefold over the past year, according to Pitchbook data.

MGX, a newly established AI fund from the United Arab Emirates, was one of the investors seeking to participate in OpenAI’s latest fundraising round, which is expected to value the company at USD150 billion, according to two sources who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions.

Few venture capital funds possess the financial capacity to match the multibillion-dollar investments made by companies like Microsoft and Amazon. However, these sovereign funds have ample resources for AI investments, as they operate on behalf of their governments, which have benefited from rising energy prices in recent years.

According to Goldman Sachs, the total wealth of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is projected to increase from USD2.7 trillion to USD3.5 trillion by 2026.

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