Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company G42 has divested from several Chinese entities, including TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. This move is aimed at avoiding critique from the United States due to G42’s associations with Chinese businesses. 42XFund, G42’s technology investment branch, has confirmed the full withdrawal of its investments in China, which reportedly amount to around $10 billion. Specific deals and total Chinese investments remain undisclosed. However, sources confirmed the shares sold in ByteDance were valued approximately at $100 million.
Despite the UAE’s neutral stance towards both the US and China, G42’s CEO, Peng Xiao, noted in a December interview that balancing relationships with both nations is not feasible due to geopolitical tensions. He stated that deepening ties with US counterparts would require minimizing further collaboration with former Chinese partners.
G42, overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser, is engaged in numerous AI sectors. The firm has received considerable investments from the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Silver Lake from the US. The company has partnered with US giants such as Microsoft and OpenAI and Chinese tech firms in the past.
Considering its reliance on semiconductors from Nvidia, G42 is keen on maintaining good relations with the US. The 42XFund, a collaboration between G42 and the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG) initiated in 2022, is a strategic partnership meant to enhance Abu Dhabi’s influence in the tech industry.
Furthermore, OpenAI’s Sam Altman has been in talks with Sheikh Tahnoon about launching a semiconductor venture, raising speculations of seeking a mutual chip manufacturing strategy worth trillions of dollars in funding.
