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
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
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
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

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


Sarmad Khan
  • English
  • Arabic

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.

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

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Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

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She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

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One in four Americans don't plan to retire

Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.

Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.

According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.

According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.

For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.

"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."

When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared. 

"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.

She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.

 

What is an ETF?

An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.

There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.

The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash. 

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Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

Neil Thomson – THE BIO

Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.

Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.

Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.

Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.

Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.

Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

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Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km

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Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Have you been targeted?

Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:

1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.

2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.

3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.

4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.

5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.