UAE's Mubadala takes stake in Abu Dhabi AI firm Group 42

Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment company is integrating Injazat and Khazna into G42 as part of the deal

A view of Au Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. Mubadala is taking a minority stake in could computing and artificial intelligence firm Group 42. Alamy

Mubadala Investment Company is integrating two of its technology portfolio companies into Group 42 to take a minority stake in the artificial intelligence and cloud-computing firm.

Injazat and Khazna Data Centers (Khazna) – part of Mubadala’s information, communications and technology portfolio – are being acquired by G42 as part of the deal, Mubadala said in a statement on Monday.

“This decision is consistent with our strategy of investing in next-generation technology companies that are poised for substantial growth,” Mubadala group chief executive and managing director, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said.

“G42 is highly respected as a technology leader, with a broad portfolio covering major areas including healthcare, smart cities, analytics and energy.”

Mubadala has incubated Khazna and Injazat over the past decade to become leaders in their field, and G42 will benefit from their operational capabilities and complementary offerings, Mr Al Mubarak said.

The deal will help G42’s technology capabilities, accelerating its cloud business and its ability to deliver scalable technology solutions, Mubadala said.

“These are two great technology entities, and this agreement reflects G42’s continuous effort to deliver cutting-edge, AI-enabled solutions to the region,” Peng Xiao, chief executive of G42, said. “We are looking forward to the expertise Mubadala brings to our organisation, having founded and grown not only these two thriving companies, but also other complementary businesses.”

Injazat is among regional market leaders for digital transformation, cloud and cyber security. Khazna provides organisations with dedicated commercial wholesale data centre solutions.

The deal is G42’s latest as it looks to expand its technology portfolio. In January, the company acquired Abu Dhabi-based Bayanat, an end-to-end geospatial data products and services provider.

The company has also formed a joint venture with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company last month to develop and commercialise AI products and applications for the oil and gas industry.

The JV entity AIQ, which is 60 per cent owned by Adnoc, combines AI modelling and supercomputing with Adnoc's oil and gas industry expertise and a vast amount of data, Adnoc said in an October 7 statement.

G42, which owns and operates Artemis, the world’s 26th-most powerful supercomputer became the first UAE-based company in September to establish an office in Israel, following the signing of the Abraham Accord.

The new office will allow it to access technologies and talents available in Israel and assist Israeli companies to expand their operations in the Middle East region.

Group 42 will focus on areas related to healthcare, Covid-19 diagnostic solutions, artificial intelligence, smart cities, renewable energies, agri-tech and water supply solutions, state news agency Wam said at the time.