143 Comments 2024-05-02

Middle East "Tycoons" Pour Money into AI, Investments Soar 5x in a Year

The Middle East is becoming a key force in the field of Silicon Valley artificial intelligence investment.

According to CNBC, the newly established AI fund MGX in the UAE hopes to participate in OpenAI's latest financing round this week and get a slice of the pie, a round that is expected to push OpenAI's valuation to $150 billion.

Reports suggest that these Middle Eastern funds have invested billions of dollars in hot AI startups.

Oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar have been seeking to diversify their economies and view technology investment as an important hedging strategy.

Data from Pitchbook shows that over the past year, these countries' investments in artificial intelligence companies have grown fivefold.

Multiple funds from Middle Eastern countries are actively moving in the field of AI investment: although few venture capital funds can match the billions of dollars invested by tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, these sovereign funds are adept at raising funds for AI deals.

Middle Eastern countries have benefited from rising energy prices in recent years, and Goldman Sachs forecasts that by 2026, the total wealth of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries will increase from $2.7 trillion to $3.5 trillion.

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The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has assets exceeding $925 billion and continues to invest on a large scale.

Mubadala Investment Company in the UAE manages $302 billion, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority manages $1 trillion.

However, some investors in Silicon Valley are concerned about the influx of a large amount of capital, fearing the so-called "SoftBank effect," which refers to Masayoshi Son's Vision Fund's massive investments in companies like Uber and WeWork, whose valuations were pushed extremely high before going public.

WeWork was valued at $47 billion by SoftBank in 2019, but fell into bankruptcy last year.