Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund
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The world has yet to fully recognize the extent of change artificial intelligence will bring to every aspect of human life, the CEO of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“In terms of the risks … this is a technology that no one today really appreciates, truly the level of disruption that it’s going to create, affecting everything from our lives, our businesses, human capital, employment, every sector is going to be disrupted,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director of the $330 billion fund, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy.
“And I think that while there’s a lot of opportunity, it also presents significant amount of risk, which is today unclear, because the technology is moving so fast and we’re all trying to catch up as much as possible.”
Al Mubarak outlined the push Mubadala has been making into AI and the infrastructure that supports the burgeoning technology, including data centers and chip manufacturing.
Mubadala is a founding investor in MGX, Abu Dhabi’s AI-focused investment vehicle. The fund took part in OpenAI’s latest fundraising round in October, which raised $6.6 billion. That same month, the wealth fund’s dedicated AI company G42 announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop AI in the UAE and regional markets.
Last year, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42, in a deal that will see G42 use Microsoft’s cloud services to run its AI applications. And in December, Washington approved the export of advanced AI chips to a facility in the UAE that is run by Microsoft as part of that G42 deal, which was highly scrutinized by U.S. lawmakers over security concerns.
Al Mubarak expressed optimism about the future of AI and the UAE’s ability to leverage its investment strategy to take advantage of it.
“The demand is going to be profoundly high in terms of the enablement of that technology,” he said. That means “the technology, the AI enablement, which is the infrastructure side of it — be it energy, be it transmission, but also all forms of technology, of energy technology that’s going to help fuel this huge demand, I would also add to that data center build-out, chip build-out.”
“When you look at a 10-year horizon, which is how we look at these investments — we don’t look at a one-year or two-year, we’ll look at the next 5, 10, 20 years. And I think the growth in that demand is so strong, even if you take a conservative view, there’s an overwhelming growth coming in that space,” Al Mubarak stressed.
“That’s what gives me a lot of confidence. And I think that’s where I see, and we see, the opportunity.”
Still committed to China
Looking ahead to the global political landscape, Al Mubarak said that the Abu Dhabi wealth fund plans to continue investing in China despite potential trade headwinds anticipated under a new Donald Trump administration and the country’s economic slowdown.
“I remain, I would say, committed to investing in China,” Al Mubarak said, after being asked whether the Asian economic power is investible during the Trump era, particularly if trade tariffs were to be revived.
“Let’s look at the basics. When you look at the Chinese economy, it’s the second largest economy in the world. You have a population of 1.4 billion people. You have a significant middle income population that’s growing. You have a growth in GDP consistently. So I think these are all, let’s say, the basic frameworks of how we look at China.”
The investment chief pointed to major Chinese cities Shanghai and Hong Kong that have seen double-digit returns as markets for 2024: the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 12.7% last year, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained nearly 18% in 2024.
He also noted the Chinese government’s efforts to give markets a boost toward the end of last year by cutting interest rates and announcing broad stimulus plans
“I think on the consumer side, China has a lot to offer, and I think will continue to provide good opportunities,” he said. “Tariffs, trade, wars, whatever word you want to use, I think these are all challenging. I think not just for China, I think for the world, but I feel at the end of the day, there’s enough out there for pragmatic, reasonable, soft landings that would generate, I think, an optimal outcome for all.”
Al Mubarak did say that Chinese policymakers should do more to firm up the country’s domestic economy, which has slowed in the last year due to a property market crisis, sluggish consumer spending, an ageing population and geopolitical competition.
“Yes, I think the domestic economy is obviously crucial, particularly given the way trade or the global trade situation has evolved,” he told CNBC. “And anything to help continue to boost the Chinese consumer market, I think is a positive signal to the markets.”
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