Alat willing to cut China ties to win U.S. trust, CEO says

Saudi Arabia’s new $100 billion investment fund Alat wants to win the trust of both U.S. tech and government leaders.

Following up on the political terms that paved the way for Microsoft to invest $1.5 billion last month in Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence firm G42, Alat CEO Amit Midha says Saudi Arabia is willing to sell its China holdings if asked by Washington.

“So far the requests have been to keep manufacturing and supply chains completely separate, but if the partnerships with China would become a problem for the U.S., we will divest,” he told Bloomberg in an interview on the sidelines of the Milken Conference.

Midha said Alat, which is focused on AI and semiconductors, will announce partnerships with two U.S. tech companies by the end of June, and will co-invest alongside a U.S. investment firm. He did not identify the companies.