The Emirati dignitary met with the head of SoftBank on Thursday as the Japanese company reportedly looks to invest at the intersection of energy and artificial intelligence.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who is cabinet minister of industry and advanced technology as well as CEO of national oil company ADNOC and chairman of alternative energy company Masdar, met with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son in Tokyo.
According to an Instagram post by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the two “discussed trends in the energy, industry and advanced technology sectors and stressed the importance of increasing strategic investments in these areas to promote sustainable economic growth.”
Abu Dhabi and SoftBank have history: Mubadala, the capital’s sovereign wealth fund, was an anchor investor in Son’s Vision Fund I but ultimately reduced its stake after the fund’s big investment in WeWork collapsed.
SoftBank’s fortunes have been reversed by Arm, a British chip designer it bought in 2016 that has more than doubled its market value to about $170 billion since listing in New York last year.
information SoftBank is considering borrowing up to $10 billion from banks to help it invest in energy-related projects, the company reported on Thursday, as the data centers that power AI are huge energy hogs and face growing demand.
According to Silicon Valley publications, SoftBank is also exploring ways to acquire large quantities of Nvidia’s graphics processing units, which are the foundation of AI development.
Al Jaber also met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and Minister of Digital Transformation Taro Kono.
He, along with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi, met with Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito Ken to discuss strengthening trade and investment in energy and advanced industries with the world’s fourth-largest economy.
