Abu Dhabi’s Lunate weighs $1 billion AI investment in MGX

Abu Dhabi’s Lunate investment firm is spearheading a new push to bolster the UAE’s global position in developing artificial intelligence technology.

The two-year-old Abu Dhabi asset manager is now considering a possible investment of up to $1 billion in MGX, which was established last year by the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and its G42 tech unit to channel money into AI, Bloomberg reports.

Lunate, which works with many of the world’s largest firms including BlackRock, Blackstone, CVC Capital Partners and Brookfield Asset Management, raised about $17 billion in 2024, of which it has already invested about $13.5 billion, the news agency said.

Among its largest backers are Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Chimera Investment, which are both led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE National Security Advisor and Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

The UAE government, meanwhile, announced a $1 billion “AI for development” initiative at the G20 summit in Johannesburg to expand AI infrastructure across Africa, and integrate the technology into education, agriculture, health care and climate adaptation.