A unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is boosting its investment in a technology venture with China’s Alibaba Group. Jada Fund of Funds, owned by the Saudi PIF, is participating in eWTP Arabia’s upcoming $1 billion funding round, bringing its total investment in the entity to approximately $200 million. The fund will focus on investing in technology and energy startups. eWTP Arabia, founded in 2019, has already raised $400 million for deals and is backed by investors such as Saudi Telecom Co., Alibaba Cloud, and the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence.
eWTP has invested in 16 firms in Asia and the Middle East and plans to list some of its portfolio companies on the Saudi stock exchange next year. The PIF has been actively investing in tech firms and startups to build a venture capital industry and promote entrepreneurship for economic diversification and job creation. It has established a $1 billion fund of funds for venture capital firms and also makes direct investments through its subsidiary, Sanabil.