Saudi Arabia plans $40B AI investment fund overseen by a16z: Report

The Saudi Arabian government is reportedly mulling the creation of a $40 billion investment fund to pour money into artificial intelligence, which could take place in the second half of the year.

Representatives behind Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are also considering a partnership with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to oversee the AI investments, The New York Times reported on March 19 citing three people familiar with the matter.

Other venture capitalists may also participate in the AI fund and the a16z partnership could see it setting up an office in the country’s capital, Riyadh.

One of a16z’s founders, Ben Horowitz, is friends with the fund’s governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Times reported.
If the $40 billion investment goes ahead, it would make Saudi Arabia the largest investor in the AI space. Two of the three people familiar cited by the Times predicted the fund could be launched in the second half of 2024, but the plans could still change.

.@a16z founders @bhorowitz and @pmarca spoke with Adam Neumann about Saudi Arabia at a Saudi-sponsored conference last week:

some takeaways:
-- praised SA as a "startup country"
-- "his royal highness" acts as SA's de facto "founder"
-- US is slow, SA is fast pic.twitter.com/eUIM1ZN1cv

— This Week in Startups (@twistartups) April 5, 2023