The Daily Circuit: Musk headlines Dubai summit + MBZ funds AI in Paris

👋 Hello from the Middle East!

In the Daily Circuit today, we’re looking at UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s $52 billion AI deal with French President Emanuel Macron in Paris, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s new auto hub in Riyadh, MGX and General Catalyst preparing to invest in Anthropic, and a $20 million art auction in the Saudi capital to be conducted this weekend by Sotheby’s. But first, world leaders and corporate chiefs are heading to Dubai.

Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Larry Ellison and Tony Blair will headline next week’s World Governments Summit in Dubai, one of the Middle East’s key annual gatherings for both politicos and investors.

Artificial intelligence, of course, is a major focus this year with Omar Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications – and summit Vice Chairman – due for an onstage chat on Tuesday with Google CEO Pichai.

Musk, the world’s richest person, is expected to make an appearance in a session called “Boring Cities, AI and DOGE.” Blair, the world-trotting entrepreneur and former U.K. Prime Minister, and Oracle founder Ellison will interview each other in front of the 6,000 registered participants.

The political line-up over the three-day conference will featurethe presidents of Indonesia, Poland, Sri Lanka, and Colombia, along with the prime ministers of Kuwait, Armenia, Pakistan, Kenya, Libya, Georgia, and Bangladesh.

In Miami, meanwhile, final preparations are underway for the Saudi Future Investment Initiative’s Priority Summit, a spinoff of the annual Davos-patterned event in Riyadh.

Among those participating in the Feb. 19-21 meetingwill beSaudi Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar, Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, PIF Governor and FII Institute Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, SoftBank Group Corp Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son and Serena Ventures Managing partner Serena Williams.

Also BlackRock Co-founder and President Robert S. Kapito, Oracle  Safra Catz, Neuberger Berman Chairman and CEO George Walker, Point72 CEO and New York Mets owner Steven Cohen, Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and Bridgewater Associates CEO Nir Bar Dea.

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Sotheby’s stages first international art auction in Saudi Arabia

Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero’s Society Woman painting is displayed at Sotheby’s Origins exhibition in Diriyah on Feb. 5, 2025. (Getty Images)

As the sun sets over the golden mudbrick walls of At-Turaif that housed Saudi Arabia’s royal family 300 years ago, a glittering crowd will gather nearby this weekend to covet a historic collection of treasures, Rebecca Anne Proctor writes for The Circuit.

Sotheby’s will use the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Riyadh’s historic Diriyah district as the backdrop for the kingdom’s first-ever international art auction. The event on Saturday will offer 100 lots of art, jewelry and sports memorabilia with an estimated value of more than $20 million.

The landmark sale, titled Origins, is being staged amid falling global art sales, with dealers and auction houses increasingly looking to wealthy Gulf countries to help keep them afloat.

Click here to read the full story.

📰 Developing Stories

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman named a portion of Riyadh’s King Abdullah Economic City as the “King Salman Automotive Cluster,” which will house the headquarters and manufacturing facilities for both local and international carmakers. Among the companies that will be operating in the cluster are Ceer – the first Saudi electric vehicle brand – and Lucid Motors, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund and opened its first international factory in the kingdom in 2023. The site will also host multiple PIF joint ventures with global manufacturers, including a highly automated factory with South Korea’ Hyundai Motor and a partnership with Italy’s Pirelli to establish a tire factory. The government said it expects the KSAC to accelerate local manufacturing capacity, promote research and development, and optimize supply chains, making them more efficient for both regional and international markets.

💲 Sovereign Circuit

MGX: The Abu Dhabi-owned investment firm backed by Mubadala and G42, and General Catalyst are among the investors in talks to participate in a new funding round for San Francisco-based AI startup Anthropics, which is oversubscribed and may be larger than the $2 billion target, Bloomberg reports. General Catalyst is the subject of an article in The Information that says the Cambridge, Mass. investment firm is “stretching the definition of venture capital.”

ADQ: AD Ports Group, which is controlled by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, formed a joint venture with CMA CGM Group to develop, manage and operate the New East Mole multipurpose terminal at the Port of Pointe Noire in Congo under a 30-year extendable concession that was awarded in June 2023.

Public Investment Authority: PIF-owned ACWA Power signed two agreements with Aramco to advance renewable energy projects and test vanadium flow batteries, including a photovoltaic energy forecasting initiative using big data and machine learning.

G42: The Abu Dhabi-owned tech company published its “Frontier AI Safety Framework,” which sets protocols for risk assessment, governance and external oversight to ensure safe and responsible development of advanced AI models.

Mubadala: Oman and the UAE signed a long-term commercial agreement with EMSTEEL and Hafeet Rail, a joint venture between Oman and Etihad rail in partnership with Mubadala, to transport bulk materials between both countries, boosting private sector competitiveness in regional markets.

↪↩ Closing Circuit

🏛️ Tower Finance: UAE-based Sweid & Sweid secured a $125 millionloan from Arab Bank to finance Sweid One, its Grade-A office tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, with Dutco Construction as the main contractor.

🌐 Global Brands: Naif Alrajhi Investment has launched Saudi Arabia’s first global media representation company through Phi Advertising, in partnership with Skyscale Media, to provide Saudi brands access to global media expertise and exclusive partnerships.

🗣 Circuit Chatter

🇪🇬 Economic Bailout: The IMF plans to unveil a new loan agreement with Egypt following last year’s $8 billion deal that was aimed at helping the country rebound from its economic crisis.

🛍️ Moroccan Option: Swedish fashion chain H&M is looking to strengthen its manufacturing presence in Morocco as part of a strategic shift to counter potential U.S. trade barriers, Reuters reports, citing CFO Adam Karlsson.

⚖️ Market Transparency: Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority is conducting a public consultation on proposed investment fund regulations to improve transparency, protect investors and align with global best practices.

💸 Hungarian Interest: A 25-company Hungarian alliance plans to invest in Saudi Arabia’s tech and digital sectors, leveraging Vision 2030 opportunities, according to an announcement made at the Saudi-Hungarian Business Forum in Riyadh on Thursday.

✊🏼 United Front: Tunisia plans to boost foreign direct investment by creating a Supreme Investment Authority that would merge six agencies which includes the Tunisian Investment Authority, and various domestic and international offices.

🌍 Power Circuit

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, held a meeting with Ahmed Al Safadi, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jordan, during his visit to the UAE.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, launched the Al Emarat P111 corvette, a naval vessel, to strengthen UAE defences in the waters.

➿ On the Circuit

Oualid Lahsini, Brevan Howard Asset Management’s CEO in the Middle East, is leaving after two years in the role, Bloomberg reports. Both the firm and Lahsini declined to comment.

Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, has met with executives from Tata Group to look at partnerships within multiple sectors, including military, aviation, and electronics. 

Ihsan Buhulaiga, a former member of the Saudi shura council and author of several books on the Saudi economy, told AGBI that the GCC should develop aligned policies and regulations around the potential use of cryptocurrencies as a payment tool.

📷 Photo of the Day

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and French President Emmanuel Macron witness the signing of a UAE-French agreement on AI cooperation in Paris by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the UAE Executive Affairs Authority and CEO of Mubadala and Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. (WAM)

📅 Circuit Calendar

Feb. 1-8, Abu Dhabi: Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open. Top women tennis stars compete in WTA 500 tournament. International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City.

Feb. 9-12, Riyadh. Leap 2025. Riyadh’s tech event that brings in tech innovators and leading experts from around the world to discover new ideas, build new partnerships, and connect with inspiring mentors and investors. Riyadh Front Expo Centre.

Feb. 11-13, Dubai. World Government Summit 2025. Annual event brings in world leaders and business leaders from the region and outside to discuss the most pressing matters. Madinat Jumeirah.

Feb. 14-16, Munich Security Forum. Known as one of the world’s leading forums for debating international security policy. Hotel Bayerischer Hof.

Feb. 17-21, Abu Dhabi: IDEX 2025. Military contractors from around the world show their wares at one of the most prominent international defense exhibitions. ADNEC Center.

Feb. 17-21, Dubai. Gulf Food. In its 30th edition, the exhibition brings in many more companies to show their work on food and the industry’s use of technology. Dubai World Trade Center. 

Feb. 18-19, Abu Dhabi. The Future of Asset Management Middle East. A two-day conference that gathers leading executives from top asset management companies in the Middle East region. The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Canal.

 Feb. 22-23, Miami, Fla. FII Priority. Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative connects U.S. and Middle Eastern investors. Faena Hotel & Forum, Miami Beach.

Feb. 25, Dubai. Family Office Summit 2025. Global fund leaders managing $1 trillion in assets will meet under the theme, “Taking Money Out of Cash.” Ritz Carlton Jumeirah Beach.

Feb.25-March 1, Dubai. WCA World 2025. The conference brings together some of the world’s biggest independent freight forwarders. Dubai World Trade Centre.

March 17-19, Dubai. Dubai International Horse Fair. A gathering of the equestrian industry and horse lovers from around the world. Dubai World Trade Centre.