At the prestigious Ritz-Carlton Moscow Hotel, PIF Managing Director Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan made an appearance during the Russian-Saudi Investment Forum.
In a significant development, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly in advanced discussions with the prominent American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz to establish a substantial fund aimed at artificial intelligence ventures, with the goal of raising $40 billion. This information has come to light through credible sources and further corroborated by insiders familiar with the matter.
Insights from those privy to the ongoing conversations, which have been in the works for several months, suggest that this collaboration would unite the formidable financial capabilities of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, valued at $925 billion, with the venture capital expertise of Andreessen Horowitz, a heavyweight in Silicon Valley with a $35 billion asset portfolio.
Insiders have emphasized that while negotiations are progressing, they have not yet reached a conclusion. The individuals, who requested anonymity due to confidentiality constraints, also indicated that to their knowledge, no other parties besides the PIF and Andreessen Horowitz are currently involved in the discussions.
Requests for comments from both the PIF and Andreessen Horowitz remain unanswered at this time.
The PIF’s aggressive investment strategy is part of a broader effort to shift the kingdom’s economic reliance away from oil, aligning with the strategic vision outlined by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the year 2030. The wealth fund has been channeling substantial investments into acquiring stakes and forming joint ventures with a diverse array of global entities, including tech giant Uber, financial institutions Bank of America and Citi, as well as investment firms SoftBank and Blackstone.
Andreessen Horowitz, a firm with an impressive track record of supporting high-profile companies such as Airbnb, Coinbase, Facebook, and Slack, boasts nearly 100 AI-centric startups in its investment catalog. Co-founder Marc Andreessen highlighted the critical importance of AI in a blog post, stating, The threat of not aggressively pursuing global AI dominance … is considerable.