![]() Marquee funds that once prized exclusivity, such as Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have raised funds of as much as $US5 billion and sometimes as large as $US9 billion. US venture capital has exploded in size in recent years, in part fuelled by a boom in tech valuations during the coronavirus pandemic. Veteran financier Ben Horowitz is among those courting investment from Saudi Arabia. It reminds us of going to China in 2003.” “We think it will become an increasingly important area of the world over the next decade. Founders Fund partner Keith Rabois, who said in 2018 that Silicon Valley had been hypocritical for accepting Saudi money, said, “I don’t change my values and principles because a funding environment is difficult.”īut Lead Edge founder Mitchell Green, who made venture investments in Alibaba and Uber, said he had spent the past few weeks “building long-term relationships” with people and companies in the Middle East. That willingness to do business in the region has led to some criticism. “The Four Seasons in Riyadh is basically Palo Alto,” said a partner at one large Silicon Valley venture fund. Now the Middle East is buzzing with US start-up investors, according to several people who have visited there this year. At a conference organised by PIF last month in Miami, he praised the kingdom as a “start-up country” and likened its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to a company founder.Ī year ago, Mr Horowitz’s trips to Saudi Arabia would have been an anomaly among VCs flush with cash and keen to avoid the moral predicament of dealing with states with poor human rights records. In October, he spoke at the “Davos in the desert” conference in Riyadh and had lunch with Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud, the Saudi ambassador to the US. Mr Horowitz, whose San Francisco-based firm raised just over $US14 billion last year, in particular has become a vocal supporter of Saudi interest in tech innovation. The sums invested in the firms were not revealed. PIF’s venture arm, Sanabil, recently disclosed its partnerships with nearly 40 US venture firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, David Sacks’ Craft Ventures, Insight Partners and 9Yards Capital, where former UK chancellor George Osborne is a managing partner. ![]() Silicon Valley executives were invited to the Jeddah F1 Grand Prix as guests of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. They describe a new love affair between US venture funds and Middle Eastern cash.Ī group of Silicon Valley executives received a personal invite from the office of Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, the $US620 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund, to be his guest at last month’s Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, according to a person with knowledge of the calls.Īmong the attendees, according to the person, was Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz – the veteran financier’s second trip to Saudi Arabia in less than six months. The Financial Times interviewed more than a dozen Silicon Valley VCs who control tens of billions of dollars between them, as well as a string of advisers and bankers. ![]() “The tech correction has humbled the industry.” New love affair everyone is coming to ,” said Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures at Mubadala Capital, a $US6 billion ($9 billion) arm of Abu Dhabi’s $US790 billion sovereign wealth fund. “We came to San Francisco looking for them in 2017. That has also meant that some VCs have quietly reversed earlier decisions to refuse meetings with, or cash from, politically controversial nations such as Saudi Arabia. VCs are, in turn, being encouraged to come to the region, as Gulf officials and young royals seek to diversify their economy away from petrochemicals with investments into hot tech sectors such as artificial intelligence. These visits come after their traditional North American and European backers contend with an economic downturn that has forced them to rein in private investments. Top technology VCs such as Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global and IVP have jetted teams of executives to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the trips.Ĭrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has been praised by Silicon Valley venture capitalists. ![]() San Francisco | Silicon Valley investors are touring the Middle East, seeking to build long-term ties with sovereign wealth funds during the worst funding crunch for venture capital (VC) firms in almost a decade. ![]()
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