g42

As the Gulf region gains growing strategic importance for the tech war between the U.S. and China, Microsoft makes a big move into one of its richest oil countries. The minority stake will give Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, a seat on G42’s board of directors. The funding comes amid U.S. politicians’ escalating concerns over G42’s ties with China. Given the two countries’ increasing economic ties, it’s no surprise that G42, the AI poster child of the UAE, has also forged ties with Chinese firms. Under the agreement, the Emirati company’s data platform and other key technology infrastructure will migrate to Microsoft Azure, which will power G42’s AI product development.