The UAE space program is taking a $1.1 billion leap forward by contracting with Airbus to build two new satellites.

Abu Dhabi-based Yahsat signed a contract with European aerospace company Airbus Defence and Space to design and build the AY4 and AY5 satellites based on the widely used Eurostar Neo platform.

Yahsat won a $5.1 billion contract last year to provide satellite service for the UAE government, primarily through the AY4 and AY5 models that are scheduled for launch in 2027 and 2028.

Yahsat merged with Emirati space company Bayanat last December to form a new company focused on satellite communications and artificial intelligence with an implied market value at the time of $4 billion.

Among the key backers of the combined entity are the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, AI developer G42 and International Holding Co., the Abu Dhabi investment company led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed.

The C-suites have gotten a bit bigger in Dubai’s government offices.

Over the weekend, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, installed 22 Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers across departments that govern areas such as community development, human resources, customs, policing and civil aviation. 

“The appointment of the new Chief AI Officers in the Dubai government marks the initial phase toward realizing our vision for the future of government work,” Sheikh Hamdan said. “We are confident that these officers will intensify their efforts and go the extra mile in translating our vision into reality.”

It is a quintessentially Dubai move. The UAE’s biggest city has long sought to be known for flexible policymaking, a business-friendly environment and smart government services as it looks to lure private sector development, with the likes of Microsoft, Meta and Google taking up regional headquarters in the glitzy city.

The Dubai Future Foundation, which shares an office tower with UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, for example, is a think tank designed to help guide government policy as it gears for the future. 

While Dubai has prioritized business-friendliness and agile governance amid the artificial intelligence revolution, Abu Dhabi has taken a different tact.

The UAE capital, a bit more than an hour south of Dubai, has leveraged its deep sovereign wealth fund pockets to plow cash into government-backed entities, investment vehicles and startups both at home and abroad.

Locally, this has yielded AI champion G42, the applied research group Advanced Technology Research Council and an AI-dedicated research university, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

It has also given Abu Dhabi Inc. a footprint in tech hubs like Silicon Valley, with major investments in companies like semiconductor startup Cerebras and self-driving firm Waymo.   

Alef Education delivered a promising IPO, the first of the year for Abu Dhabi’s ADX, pricing the education technology platform at the top of the range and drawing $20 billion in orders.

The offering was 39 times oversubscribed and raised a total AED 1.89 billion ($515 million) after the deal priced shares at 1.35 dirhams each, implying a market capitalization of $2.6 billion.

Alef, founded in 2016 and indirectly owned by private asset manager Abu Dhabi Capital Group, makes online learning programs for K through 12 students, with customers in the UAE, Morocco, Indonesia and the U.S. Shares are expected to be listed on June 12 under the ticker symbol “AlefEdT.”

UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, who also chairs Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm G42, headed for Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash., following a three-day state visit to Washington, D.C.

He met with CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday to discuss “ways to strengthen collaboration,” according to a post on X. Microsoft, the biggest backer and partner of generative AI market leader OpenAI, made a $1.5 billion investment in G42 in April.

The deal brought Abu Dhabi’s AI champion into the fold of American companies leading tech’s big wave. The investment required G42 to sever its ties with Chinese manufacturers like Huawei.

Sheikh Tahnoon, who also chairs two Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds – Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ – is now working on behalf of the UAE to finalize a data protection and intellectual property agreement with the U.S.

The aim is to assuage fears over national security as the trade relationship increasingly funnels investments to machine learning, semiconductors and aerospace. 

While Saudi Arabia’s impending sale of a second chunk of shares in Aramco looks like it will be among the world’s biggest stock offerings in years, the deal is falling slightly shy of expectations.

After almost a week of marketing the sale in London, New York and other financial capitals, the kingdom’s bankers told investors they plan to price shares of the world’s biggest oil company at 27.25 Saudi riyals ($7.27) each, the Wall Street Journal reports.

That compares to the target range of 26.70 to 29 riyals and means the offering should yield $11.2 billion rather than the $12 billion previously mooted.

The reduced bounty could mean more budget tightening for some of the country’s mega-projects, such as Neom, that the offering is meant to finance, especially as oil prices slide below $80 a barrel.

Sustaining the ambitious pace of construction envisioned by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would require crude oil prices closer to $100 a barrel, according to calculations by the International Monetary Fund cited by Bloomberg.

Among the stock offering’s attractions for investors are the steady and increasing dividend payouts Aramco offers relative to its global oil competitors.

The company carries a dividend yield of close to 7%, higher than the 3.4% at Exxon and 4.2% at Chevron, the Journal notes.

UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed concluded a three-day trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday as the UAE and U.S. look to nail down a common policy framework that protects intellectual property and data.

Amid increasing commercial activity between the two countries on advanced technology, artificial intelligence is among the fastest-growing areas of bilateral commerce, the UAE Embassy to the U.S. noted in a summary of Sheikh Tahnoon’s visit.

The relationship is a two-way street: more than $1 trillion is currently invested by the UAE in the U.S. economy, with significant backing from Emirati funds in semiconductors, AI, space and clean energy.

UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba called the U.S. “our partner of choice” on AI development with “ambitious plans to do even more.”  

Sheikh Tahnoon, who is the brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and chairman of sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ, met with former President Barack Obama on Wednesday to discuss joint efforts to use technology to improve education. 

He also met with his counterpart Jake Sullivan on Tuesday and held discussions with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a key figure in Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42.

Others who met with Sheikh Tahnoon included Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell; Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer; and Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein.

Also, White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk; Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy Dan Shapiro; Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA).

Traveling with Sheikh Tahnoon were UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Alsuwaidi; Executive Affairs Authority Chairman and Mubadala Investment Co. CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak; Supreme Council for National Security Secretary-General Ali Al Shamsi; National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority Chairman Ali Al Neyadi and G42 CEO Peng Xiao, who is a member of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed visited the White House on Tuesday where the UAE National Security Adviser and chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ met with his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan.

The meeting comes as Abu Dhabi has aligned itself with the world’s biggest economy on matters of technology development — inking a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft for local artificial intelligence champion G42 earlier this year with backing from the Biden administration. 

Sheikh Tahnoon’s visit to Washington, along with a delegation that includes other Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund executives, is focused on enhancing the strategic relations between the two countries with Sheikh Tahnoon speaking to Sullivan on “shared insights on regional and global issues of mutual concern,” the Emirati leader posted on X this morning.

Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, said the UAE is seeking “a marriage” with the U.S. over technology development, speaking in an interview with the Financial Times published on Tuesday.

On Monday, Sheikh Tahnoon met with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell at the State Department in Foggy Bottom. The pair discussed artificial intelligence and driving economic growth both bilaterally and in Africa and India, according to a readout from the State Department.

Qatar and China are strengthening investment ties amid U.S. warnings to its Gulf allies about getting too close to Beijing.

Most recently, the Qatar Investment Authority agreed to buy a 10% stake in ChinaAMC, the country’s second-largest mutual fund, from Hong Kong-based Primavera Capital, Reuters reports.

China has become one of the major importers of liquefied natural gas from Qatar, the No. 3 exporter of LNG.

Middle East sovereign wealth funds have invested $7 billion in China since June last year, five times the amount seen during the previous 12 months, according to industry data provider Global SWF.