MGX, a company backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, has become a significant participant in several major U.S. artificial intelligence and technology deals.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

MGX, a company backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, has become a significant participant in several major US artificial intelligence and technology deals. The firm has partnered with companies such as Microsoft and BlackRock, and was involved in a recent $40 billion data center acquisition. MGX, led by the UAE's national security advisor Tadnoon Bin Zayed Al-Nayan, has also attracted attention for its investments in cryptocurrency and its connections to former President Trump.

Analysts note that MGX's deep financial resources allow it to take risks that traditional venture capital firms may avoid, and its involvement is seen as a way for US firms to counter Chinese influence in AI. However, the company's close ties to political figures and foreign investment have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest and the broader implications for US technology infrastructure.

UAE backs U.S. AI deals

Welcome back. We are getting some new details surrounding the backers of a U.S. TikTok deal. Steve Kovach following that for us this morning. Steve, what have you learned? Yeah, it's not just TikTok. It's a whole bunch of A.I. deals as well. And look, Sarah, when we talk about these A.I. deals over the last several weeks, we bring up household names like NVIDIA or Microsoft, venture capital firms like Thrive. But a new name keeps cropping up, including in yesterday's $40 billion deal to buy the data center company called Aligned. And like you said, TikTok's U.S. business is there. This company is called MGX. It's actually backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund. And it was formed just under two years ago, and it's already making waves across the tech industry. It's partners with Microsoft and BlackRock, for example, put a consortium to spend $100 billion on A.I. infrastructure in the United States. Microsoft also did a deal with MGX last year for A.I. data centers in the Middle East. And Microsoft even invested $1.5 billion in MGX's sister company, a tech holding firm called G42. It's all really complicated. Look, buying TikTok's U.S. business, raising questions about foreign money in the deal as well. And there's just so much more going on here. It's all very complicated. But what you guys need to know about MGX in a very short time, it's worked its way into many of the major A.I. deals we've been talking about. It's actually run by a man named Tadnoon Bin Zayed Al-Nayan. He's actually the UAE's national security advisor and happens to be the brother of that country's president. And, of course, there is a President Trump connection here. MGX reportedly invested $2 billion in the crypto firm Binance, but not the standard way of raising money here. They use coins they bought from the Trump family's World Liberty Financial. Obviously, some potential conflict of interest there. By the way, right after that, Al-Nayan, he was in the Oval Office with the President Trump this spring, announcing a $1.5 trillion investment in the United States over the next decade. So why is MGX suddenly involved in all these deals? Why caught up with Patrick Moorhead? He's a tech analyst who comes on CNBC all the time. He says they have those deep pockets backed by the sovereign wealth. They're willing to take bigger risks than some traditional VC firms and big tech companies. And it's a way for U.S. firms to protect from China moving AI technology into the Middle East. I also caught up with another CNBC regular, the venture capitalist Bradley Tusk. He said the risk for MGX right now, though, is looking too close to Trump after he leaves office. But, look, the relationship with the president has been good for business so far, guys. It's called corporate diplomacy. It's very in vogue these days. We're seeing a lot of that going on. Oh, yeah. Thank you.

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UAE backs U.S. AI deals

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