When Ibrahim Ajami was tasked by Mubadala in 2017 to open its San Francisco office and drive technology investments for the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, he turned to organic green tea, almonds, melatonin and magnesium citrate.
What began as a jet lag fix for a grueling commute from the Gulf Coast fitted Mr Ajami squarely into the Silicon Valley mindset and its agile way of making money. information In a profile on the Lebanese-born, UAE-raised financier, he writes:
Mr. Ajami, now 49, went on to head Mubadala’s venture capital division, overseeing investments in startups including SpaceX, Brex, Klarna and Waymo. Along the way, he tried to dispel perceptions that sovereign wealth funds were slow and bureaucratic, and built Mubadala into a company that could compete with the top venture-capital firms in Silicon Valley.
“Wouldn’t the founders talk about Mubadala the same way they do about Sequoia in 20 years’ time?” Ajami told the news outlet in an interview.
Mubadala’s next move sees Ajami milking its tech connections to put more money directly into startups, writes Kate Clark. informationAt the same time, Mubadala is increasingly using its influence to encourage Western companies and investors to deepen ties with the UAE’s tech ecosystem, part of the country’s broader efforts to diversify its economy away from oil reliance.
“This is no longer just a place to hop on a plane and make a presentation to a big sovereign wealth fund,” Ajami said. “You start thinking, ‘What is the market opportunity for me here? What is the opportunity to build a business here?'”
