UAE investors are upping their investments abroad, with not one, but two investments in tech firms announced yesterday.
#1- 2PointZero takes a slice of Archer Aviation: International Holding Company’s (IHC) investment subsidiary 2PointZero participated in Mubadala-backed flying EV manufacturer Archer Aviation’s USD 430 mn equity offering, Reuters reports. Other investors involved in the offering include United Airlines, Stellantis, and Wellington Management.
Where will the money go? A portion of the funds will be used to develop a hybrid aircraft in partnership with defense technology company Anduril Industries. The partnership with Anduril and the additional capital would accelerate the company’s scaling of advanced aerospace technologies, Archer’s CEO Adam Goldstein said.
REMEMBER- Archer Aviation is in the race to introduce air taxis to the UAE next year. The company signed a framework agreement with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to construct vertiports in the emirate. It also inked an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based aviation services provider Falcon Aviation to develop a vertiport network in key locations across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The agreement looks to launch air taxi services between the two emirates by 2025.
#2- Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala participated in a USD 600 mn series D round for US-based clean computing infrastructure firm Crusoe Energy, valuing the firm at USD 2.8 bn, Reuters reports. The company will use the funds to invest in data centers and its cloud platform Crusoe cloud, the startup said.
REMEMBER- Mubadala is already a backer of Crusoe: The company participated in Crusoe’s USD 350 mn series C round in 2022.