Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund is joining a Microsoft Corp.-backed initiative to bankroll $30 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure globally, as the oil-rich Gulf nation looks to tap into the booming sector.
The Kuwait Investment Authority will become the first non-founder financial anchor in the AI Infrastructure Partnership, according to a statement on Tuesday that didn’t disclose any financial commitment. Microsoft, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and BlackRock Inc. had in March added Elon Musk’s xAI and chipmaker Nvidia Corp. to the initiative.
The investment marks the $1 trillion wealth fund’s first major move into AI under its new managing director, Sheikh Saoud Salem Al-Sabah. Gulf peers have already bet heavily on the technology: MGX counts Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. as a founding partner, while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund recently launched an AI firm, Humain, which has struck deals with major players including Nvidia.
BlackRock and Microsoft announced the partnership last year alongside MGX and Global Infrastructure Partners, the firm founded by Bayo Ogunlesi. The companies said at the time they would seek $30 billion of private equity capital over an unspecified time frame and eventually leverage as much as $100 billion in potential investments. The consortium is also collaborating with energy suppliers NextEra Energy Inc. and GE Vernova Inc.
The KIA is among the largest sovereign funds globally and the second-biggest in the Middle East. Its roots predate the modern state of Kuwait, and it plays a central role in diversifying the country’s economy, with investments spanning ports, airports and power distribution networks worldwide. Bloomberg