Sources reveal that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is in discussions with American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, among others, to establish a $40 billion fund earmarked for investments in artificial intelligence.
Sources familiar with the matter, who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity, disclosed that these discussions have been ongoing for several months.
The proposed collaboration would unite Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) with Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent player in Silicon Valley’s venture capital landscape.
While emphasizing that the talks have yet to be finalized, the individuals declined to disclose their identities due to press interview constraints. Also, they indicated no knowledge of additional parties involved in the discussions beyond Andreessen Horowitz and the PIF.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF has commenced an extensive acquisition spree that aims to steer the kingdom’s revenue streams away from oil dependency, a central tenet of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 strategy.
The fund has injected substantial investments into equity stakes and collaborative ventures with major multinational entities such as Uber, Bank of America, Citi, SoftBank, and Blackstone.
Andreessen Horowitz, boasting $35 billion in assets under management, has provided backing to several flourishing enterprises, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Facebook, and Slack.
With nearly 100 AI-focused startups in its investment portfolio, the firm remains a prominent player in the tech investment landscape.
In a blog post on the company’s website in June 2023, co-founder Marc Andreessen underscored the significance of aggressively pursuing global AI leadership, stating, “The threat of not aggressively pursuing global AI dominance … is considerable.”
