GCC sovereign wealth funds’ investments in AI increase fivefold in 2023

Global financial data “Pitch Book” revealed that sovereign wealth funds’ investments in the Middle East in the field of artificial intelligence have increased fivefold in 2023.

Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds are emerging as major supporters of prominent artificial intelligence companies in Silicon Valley.

According to “CNBC”, this trend comes within the framework of diversifying their economies, and they are heading towards technology investments as a hedge.

According to the report, the Public Investment Fund is in talks to establish a $40 billion partnership with the American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. It has also launched a fund dedicated to artificial intelligence called the Saudi Artificial Intelligence Company.

The news network quoted sources as saying that MGX, a new artificial intelligence fund from the United Arab Emirates, was among the investors looking to obtain a share of OpenAI’s latest funding campaign this week.

The people, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential, said that the round is set to value OpenAI at $150 billion.

In context, few venture capital funds have deep enough pockets to compete with the multi-billion-dollar funding being pumped into the hands of giants like Microsoft and Amazon. But these sovereign funds have no problem providing the money needed for AI deals. The combined wealth of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is expected to rise from $2.7 trillion to $3.5 trillion by 2026, according to Goldman Sachs.