Microsoft Invests $1.5B in G42
news.microsoft.comSheikh Tahnoon just took Microsoft for a ride.
For the uninitiated, Sheikh Tahnoon is a powerful UAE royal- the founder and Chairman of G42. He chairs a $750 billion wealth fund and controls a great deal of the Abu Dhabi stock market through opaque holdings [1].
Why Microsoft goes to invest $1.5 billion in a company with such lax corporate governance, I can’t tell. Tahnoon is literally above the law in the UAE.
1- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-05/uae-s-she...
>Sheikh Tahnoon just took Microsoft for a ride.
Did they? What if that "investment" is sort of a masked bribe in order to secure exclusivity of juicy government contracts worth a lot more than 1.5B?
Microsoft also "invested" in opening an office in Munich just so Bavaria would cancel the move to Open Office which was also a bribe in disguise.
I think sometimes HN is too naive when it comes to such big deals between mega corps and shady governments, missing the forest from the trees.
"Investments" like these are often there just to grease the wheels or act as a cover for more nefarious projects. Especially that the UAE is getting involved more and more in tech defense procurement and shady offensive cybersecurity without giving a damn about human rights.
> What if that "investment" is sort of a masked bribe in order to secure exclusivity of juicy government contracts worth a lot more than 1.5B?
Hmm, makes sense. The UAE is talking about building data centers, and Microsoft could profit massive amounts providing their expertise.
Besides, it looks like this investment is primarily Azure credits that’ll come back to Microsoft anyway.
In addition, it’s important to remember that Microsoft is an important defense contractor.
Meanwhile MAUI and WinUI teams deal with lack of resources...
Is AI gonna be UAE's new oil?
I understand this comment is tongue in cheek, but of course the answer could only be yes if somehow the UAE had some sort of stranglehold on the product that couldn't be replicated by other players, like uniquely talented engineers, prestigious universities doing fundamental research, etc. I don't think the UAE, or any of the middle eastern countries, is going to be the principal player in AI development.
>I understand this comment is tongue in cheek
You understood wrongly. It wasn't tongue in cheek at all, it was dead serious.
I asked because several countries have become hubs for certain activities that are far too much regulated in most places. For example, Malta and Cyprus are the EU's habus of gambling companies because for some reason their taxes and regulations on that topic are a lot more lax than in the rest of the union. Netherlands and Ireland are the EU's hubs for multinational corporations also because of taxes and laws.
It's the same with HFT and I expect the same will be with AI: companies will seek shelter in countries with the most liberal laws on IP copyright, AI training data and usage, so I was asking myself if UAE plans to be the shelter for unscrupulous AI players as the US and especially the EU will want to regulate this as much as possible.
Desert solar and lax environmental protections? (Just a thought).
At least one UAE fund is trying to setup data centres in Kenya in an attempt to lower cooling requirements while keeping latency minimal.
I'd guess any country with cheap energy and lax laws.