The ‘Spy Sheikh’ Betting $1.5 Trillion on AI Domination

If AI is the new oil, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan is buying every drill and refinery in sight. With $1.5 trillion at his disposal, he’s making sure Abu Dhabi isn’t just part of the AI race, it’s controlling the track.

Sheikh Tahnoon, the UAE’s national security chief turned AI kingmaker, is spending big to make Abu Dhabi the world’s next AI hub. His investments span OpenAI, Anthropic, Musk’s xAI, and even a $100 billion data center project.

While others focus on a few bets, he’s spreading billions across chips, data centers, and AI labs. But risks remain:

• AI valuations are skyrocketing, mirroring the dot-com bubble.
• DeepSeek’s low-cost model challenges the need for excessive spending.
• Geopolitical tensions forced Tahnoon to choose the U.S. over China for AI partnerships.

Abu Dhabi is playing for long-term dominance, but will cash and connections be enough to outpace Silicon Valley and China? If you had a trillion-dollar AI war chest, where would you invest?

Read the full article on Wall Street Journal.

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