Unlock Editor's Digest for free
FT editor Roula Khalaf has chosen her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
A new Abu Dhabi investment firm is in talks to back OpenAI's ambitious chip venture as part of the UAE's latest bid to become a leading global intermediary in artificial intelligence development.
MGX, which received government funding, is in early-stage discussions about a funding agreement with OpenAI, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The American startup's CEO, Sam Altman, is exploring building a semiconductor business to reduce its dependence on cutting-edge chips made by Nvidia.
Altman et al.'s estimates of the cost of building AI infrastructure range from hundreds of billions of dollars to up to $7 trillion over the next few years.
Such numbers make traditional technology venture capitalists expensive, leading the group to move closer to nation-states. The Financial Times reported this month that OpenAI was also in talks with Singapore-backed Temasek over a funding deal.
MGX, an AI-focused fund launched this week, is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's powerful national security adviser. The country is betting that it can use its wealth, abundant energy resources and the political support of an authoritarian national leadership to get a head start in the race to become a global AI hub.
“They are looking at creating a structure that puts Abu Dhabi at the center of this AI strategy with global partners around the world,” said a person briefed on the fund.
UAE Minister of AI Omar Sultan Al Olama told the FT that Tesla boss Elon Musk, who launched xAI, a company that builds AI models to compete with OpenAI, is also interested in partnering with the Gulf state. He said he is doing so.
“I see him [Musk] I'm doing something [AI-related] Here I am,” Orama said, adding that she first met the billionaire in 2017 and has met him many times since then. “I don't think it will be long before he does something here,” Orama said. “The economic situation is going to determine what he and others do here.”
Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
Sheikh Tahnoun, the younger brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, oversees a vast $1.5 trillion empire that includes two sovereign wealth funds and private companies.
He is chairman of G42, a group of AI-focused companies based in the United Arab Emirates, backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and boasting partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft and Cerebras. Serving.
By partnering with G42 and Mubadala to establish MGX, Abu Dhabi is establishing itself as a 'national champion' in AI and is reinforcing the UAE's role as a home and ecosystem for the best technology talent, investors and financiers. We will make further progress,” Sheikh Tahnoun said in a statement. entrepreneur”.
Top AI players, including Mr. Altman and Nvidia Chairman Jensen Huang, are attracted to the UAE's ambition and financial strength. Gulf countries were early to tap into this emerging industry, appointing the world's first AI minister in 2017 and opening the world's first AI-focused graduate university two years later. At an event in Abu Dhabi last year, Altman said the country “has been talking about AI since before it was a thing.”
Orama said the country also has “stocks” of expensive Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), semiconductors used to power large-scale language models.
“In line with our ambitions and the direction we are moving, we need to continually increase our stockpiles,” the AI minister said. “[T]This sector will see a constant flow of investment from the UAE. ”
But the UAE's plans also require navigating trade tensions between the United States and China. In particular, the US government has expressed concerns about the G42's relationship with Chinese companies, including Huawei, which the US has blacklisted.
Sheikh Tahnoun visited Washington in June to discuss issues including “the importance of building a trusted technology ecosystem,” according to the White House. After his visit, the UAE made a strategic decision to prioritize access to U.S. technology partners, according to people familiar with the leadership's thinking.
The G42 subsequently severed ties with its Chinese partner and divested its investments in the country. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House of Commons Chinese Communist Party Select Committee, who has been a vocal critic of the Abu Dhabi-based company, welcomed the latter move. .
Olama said the UAE has not made any political decisions favoring the US over China in any AI-related business. “The UAE doesn't have an agenda to only work with one partner… It's always a question of economics.”
He added: “We want to ensure that AI can indisputably help us in the long term and is applied responsibly and preferably in an Emirati-led manner. If not, we will work with the best partners around the world.”
