The E1 electric powerboat racing league, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, brought a celebrity showdown to Croatia this past weekend, with actor Will Smith’s Angola Westbrook Racing team beating NBA star LeBron James’ Team AlUla at the Dubrovnik Grand Prix.

Angola Westbrook took first place, while NFL legend Tom Brady’s Team Brady finished second, and James’ Saudi-backed Team AlUla came in third.

The victory extended Smith’s team’s lead in the championship standings ahead of the season finale in Miami in November.

The E1 Series, the world’s first all-electric powerboat championship, is gaining momentum as PIF scales back its financial support for LIV Golf after years of heavy investment in the breakaway tour.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed awarded the Order of the Union to Martin Edelman, the New York lawyer and longtime adviser to Abu Dhabi’s leadership, in recognition of his role in advancing the country’s international partnerships and economic development.

A veteran real estate attorney and international dealmaker known as the UAE’s “Man in Manhattan,” Edelman has spent decades helping connect Gulf investors with major projects in the U.S. and abroad.

Edelman serves as general counsel and a board member of Abu Dhabi-backed technology firm G42, and sits on the board of MGX, the Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence investment fund that has backed OpenAI, xAI and Anthropic.

He also helped facilitate Abu Dhabi’s acquisition of Manchester City Football Club in 2008 and has long advised companies tied to the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed’s Royal Group.

Among those attending the decoration ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Thursday were Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed, Chairman of the Board of the Zayed Authority for People of Determination and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon, Adviser to the UAE President.

Mariam Almheiri, the managing director of Abu Dhabi investment platform 2PointZero, says countries that want to lead the artificial intelligence race must move quickly to build the energy and infrastructure needed to support it.

“People think that AI is a technology story,” Almheiri said at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum in Washington this week. “It’s not. It’s an energy story. It’s an infrastructure story and ultimately a competitiveness story.”

Almheiri, who is also 2PointZero’s vice chair, said governments should treat data centers as critical national infrastructure, comparing them to the ports and airports that helped drive economic growth in earlier decades.

Speaking on a panel at the energy conference on Tuesday, Almheiri argued that the challenges posed by AI cannot be solved by a single company or country and will require partnerships spanning energy production, supply chains, connectivity, critical minerals and financing.

2PointZero, part of the business empire of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE National Security Advisor, and one of Abu Dhabi’s fastest-growing investment platforms, is targeting those bottlenecks through its energy unit, ePointZero, Almheiri said. The subsidiary recently agreed to acquire U.S. gas infrastructure company Traverse Midstream Partners for $2.25 billion.

Almheiri, previously the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said the ability to move quickly will determine who wins the AI race, noting that major energy projects can take years to win approval and begin construction. “AI is moving at digital speed, but energy infrastructure is moving at physical infrastructure speed,” she said. “The gap is too big. We cannot wait seven to 10 years.”

JPMorgan Chase says it has invested more than $20 billion across the Gulf since the Iran war began, positioning itself for what could become one of the world’s largest reconstruction efforts.

“The one thing I think is certain, the number will be substantial – in the hundreds of billions of dollars,” Doug Petno, the bank’s co-chief executive of commercial and investment banking, told The National.

The Wall Street investment bank expects rebuilding demand to center on energy infrastructure, logistics networks, data centers and AI-related projects damaged during the conflict with Iran that began Feb. 28 or on projects needed to strengthen the region’s IT infrastructure.

Petno said JP Morgan has expanded its risk appetite in the Middle East and is working with governments, sovereign wealth funds and corporate clients on financing opportunities tied to the recovery.

The bank, which last year established a regional headquarters in Riyadh, plans to expand its UAE operations and double its regional staff over the next three to five years, Petno said.

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative Institute appointed Princess Dr. Maha bint Mishari as its CEO, putting her in charge of the kingdom’s annual business conference that’s become a magnet for bankers and corporate executives from around the world.

Princess Maha, a physician and Vice President of External Relations and Advancement at Riyadh’s Alfaisal University, will replace Richard Attias, the Moroccan-born impresario who founded the FII conference in 2019 and will continue as Chairman of the FII Institute.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and current Chairman of the FII Institute, said in a statement that he expects Princess Maha to strengthen the organization’s role “as a catalyst for investment, ideas, and solutions that serve humanity.”

Next week, Princess Maha will deliver her first address as CEO at the FII PRIORITY Europe 2026 Summit in Rome, one of several regional conferences that have been spun off from the Riyadh gathering.

“I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, our partners and our talented team to further advance our mission and create meaningful impact for future generations,” Princess Maha said.

Fasset, a UAE-based fintech firm focused on the Islamic banking market, was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Technology Pioneers, a group of 100 startups recognized for developing technologies with the potential to shape business and society.

Through the two-year program, Fasset will participate in WEF initiatives and discussions alongside policymakers, investors and industry leaders.

Founded in 2019, Fasset is backed by Gulf investors including Bahrain-based asset manager Investcorp, which is partly owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.

The company is positioning itself as a bridge between modern digital banking and the strict rules of Islamic finance, The Circuit reported in December. It seeks to expand cross-border financial networks across Asia, Africa and the Gulf, including more than 50 banking corridors that support international money transfers.

Fasset’s direction reflects efforts across Gulf accelerate digital initiatives and encourage innovation in Islamic-compliant fintech, a market projected to reach $179 billion globally by 2026.

The company aims to use blockchain technology to lower costs, increase efficiency and extend banking services to regions with large underbanked Muslim populations.

Blue Owl Capital is planting a flag in Abu Dhabi, opening an office in the UAE capital to get closer to some of the world’s deepest sources of capital.

The $315 billion asset manager, headquartered in New York, joins a growing number of alternative-investment firms setting up shop in the emirate, including Fortress Investment Group, Kimmeridge, Adams Street Partners and AXA IM Alts.

Wall Street’s attraction to Abu Dhabi is getting stronger: The emirate’s sovereign wealth funds, led by ADIA and Mubadala, manage hundreds of billions of dollars and are among the most active investors in private markets. 

Blue Owl has developed strong ties in Abu Dhabi, including a 2024 partnership with Lunate to provide growth capital to mid-sized private capital managers. Mubadala committed $1 billion to Blue Owl’s credit platform in 2023.

The world’s biggest investment banks have also been arriving, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co., and other global firms expanding their presence at Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Emirates President Tim Clark lashed out at European rivals, saying it was a “little bit sad” to see them taking advantage of their Middle Eastern counterparts’ current weakness.

Emirates, alongside Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, was forced to cut back operations since the start of the conflict with Iran, amid airspace closures, drone strikes on airport infrastructure and a dramatic reduction in inbound tourism to the Gulf. Some airlines, including German flag carrier Lufthansa, have used the opening to push for more capacity in Asia.

“My message to all of them: Be careful what you wish for, we will be back very hard and fast,” Clark told journalists ahead of the ILA Berlin air show, adding that Emirates had “no intention of cutting back, reducing or anything else.” 

Despite facing challenges from the conflict, Emirates has a ready supply of jet fuel in the UAE, giving it a significant advantage over many global airlines amid soaring oil prices driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Clark also made a plea for “free and open access” to more European markets, including Berlin, where Emirates has long sought to be granted a slot.

“We have brought enormous economic wealth to Germany just by virtue of what we’ve bought… We have very compelling reasons to be allowed to go to Berlin,” he said.

Emirates will soon face a new rival closer to home. Riyadh Air, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, will operate its first commercial flight, bringing forward the launch of its London route, after it received its third Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on Sunday.