Mubadala asset base grows to $326bn on AI and future-focused investments

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor's annualised five-year return on investments hit 10.1 per cent in 2024

The Mubadala building in Abu Dhabi. Mubadala's capital deployed across various sectors grew 33.7 per cent year-on-year to Dh119 billion. Victor Besa / The National

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, posted a 9.5 per cent increase in its asset base last year, driven by investments in future-focused sectors including artificial intelligence, health care and advanced manufacturing.

Mubadala’s total assets under management in 2024 reached Dh1.2 trillion ($326 billion), with annualised returns of 10.1 per cent over five years, the company said on Thursday.

The creation of technology company MGX by the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council, with G42 and Mubadala as founding partners, was the highlight of 2024, said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala.

“Our portfolio has been constructed to navigate market cycles and scale future-focused sectors – from AI and clean energy to life sciences, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing – all aligned with our national priorities,” he said in a statement.

“A growing number of best-in-class investors continued to partner with Mubadala across key geographies and sectors.”

Capital deployed across sectors grew 33.7 per cent on an annual basis to Dh119 billion. Portfolio mix remained broadly consistent compared to last year, with 40 per cent in private equity, 23 per cent in public markets, and 17 per cent in infrastructure and real estate.

“We deployed significant capital across mature and emerging markets, targeting new global value chains and demographic-driven megatrends while reinforcing our presence in key investment destinations,” Mr Al Mubarak said.

Mubadala was the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund investor in 2024, ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, industry specialist Global SWF said in a January report.

Investing on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, Mubadala is at the centre of the emirate’s efforts to diversify its revenue base and generate income from sources other than oil. Its interests span six continents in multiple sectors and asset classes.

Last month, global investment manager Fortress Investment Group and Mubadala entered into a partnership to invest $1 billion from Mubadala in a range of Fortress’s existing private credit, asset-based lending and real estate strategies alongside Fortress’s existing pools of capital.

Also last month, TWG Global, a holding company led by US billionaires Mark Walter and Thomas Tull, said it will acquire a minority stake in Mubadala Capital, the Abu Dhabi investment company’s asset management subsidiary. As a part of the alliance, TWG is committing $2.5 billion.

Mubadala Capital now manages Dh110.2 billion, two thirds of that on behalf of global investors, and established a Dh3.6 billion partnership with Silver Rock Financial in December.

Last year, Mubadala Capital closed private equity fund IV with total commitments of Dh11.4 billion, surpassing its original target by more than Dh3.6 billion, it said.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala. Bloomberg

Mubadala’s private credit portfolio is Dh73.5 billion, supported by partnerships with Apollo, Ares, Carlyle, Goldman Sachs and KKR.

In the technology sector, MGX, in September last year, co-led a Dh110.2 billion AI infrastructure partnership with Microsoft, BlackRock, GIP, Nvidia and xAI, and invested in companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Databricks.

Mubadala also supported the growth of the life sciences industry in the UAE through acquisitions to support national drug security and address the global need for essential medicines, it said on Thursday.

“We continued to expand in areas where Mubadala has long invested with conviction, ranging from clean energy, health care and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and semiconductors,” Mr Al Mubarak said in Mubadala’s annual review.

Institutions such as Masdar, M42, Emirates Global Aluminium and GlobalFoundries represent the company's long-term approach to value creation, he added.

A conservative “gearing ratio of 7.8 per cent” positions Mubadala well for future investments, said chief financial officer Carlos Obeid.