Artificial Intelligence Mubadala seeks to balance AI risks and rewards By Gavin Gibbon January 21, 2025, 4:57 PM Reuters Mubadla's Khaldoon Al Mubarak told the World Economic Forum in Davos that 'every sector is going to be disrupted' by AI Mubadala likely to focus on AI $300bn assets under management Abu Dhabi aims to be global leader Artificial intelligence “presents a significant amount of risk” but also “a lot of opportunity”, the head of one of Abu Dhabi’s largest sovereign wealth funds said this week. On Tuesday the emirate launched a new digital strategy that aims to invest AED13 billion ($3.54 billion) over the next two years. “In terms of the risks … [AI] is a technology that no one today really appreciates. Truly the level of disruption that it’s going to create, affecting everything from our lives, our businesses, human capital, employment, every sector is going to be disrupted,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director of Mubadala, said in an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “And I think that while there’s a lot of opportunity, it also presents a significant amount of risk, which is today unclear, because the technology is moving so fast and we’re all trying to catch up as much as possible,” Al Mubarak said. Mubadala has about $300 billion in assets under management and last year outpaced Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in spending power. Mubadala and its subsidiaries invested $29 billion in 2024, up from $17.5 billion in 2023. Al Mubarak said AI was likely to be a significant focus for its investments in the coming years: “There’s an overwhelming growth coming in that space… That’s what gives me a lot of confidence. And I think that’s where I see, and we see, the opportunity.” Under the Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027, AED13 billion is planned to be invested over the next two years in a bid to “position the emirate as a global leader in AI-driven government”. According to a statement on Tuesday, the strategy will also create more than 5,000 jobs. “By incorporating AI, cloud technologies and data-driven insights into our government’s DNA, we will transform public service delivery, optimise government operations and drive sustainable economic growth,” said Ahmed Hisham Al Kuttab, chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Government Enablement. The strategy forms part of Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE’s plans to diversify away from oil. Gulf sets ambitious targets in its quest to go cashless Tighter US chip rules offer challenges and opportunities Abu Dhabi seeks bidders for unified data centre project According to a report from consultants PwC Middle East, AI could contribute $96 billion to the UAE economy by 2030, the equivalent of almost 14 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The UAE launched the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC) in January last year to develop plans and research programmes to promote its status in AI and advanced technology. In March 2024 the AIATC created MGX, a technology investment company backed by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Abu Dhabi-based AI group G42. Mubadala was among the investors backing Crusoe, a San Francisco-based AI infrastructure provider, in its $600 million funding round in December. Waleed Al Muhairi, deputy CEO of the fund, said he is “confident AI is going to change the world”. “It’s changing the way we work, it’s changing the way we shop, it’s changing the way we relate to other people and it’s changing the way, frankly, we look at everything, so there has to be an economic opportunity in that,” he said this week in an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos.