SpaceX just starred largest IPO on Wall Streetone that is going to make Elon Musk the first billionaire in history. For a company to go public means that many details are made public and among all the paperwork one thing has become clear: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are financing the AI boom, and it is not in exchange for anything.
what’s happening. As of June 12, SpaceX is listed on the Nasdaq with a valuation of $1.75 trillion (with a B, the largest in history). As they point out in Rest of Worldthis IPO has not only served to break records, it has also revealed details that until now were private. The S-1 form, also known as the ‘prospectus’, has made it visible that the company plans to raise $75 billion, of which at least $5 billion will come from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
Why is it important. SpaceX’s IPO has made deals public that until now were private and consolidates Middle Eastern investors as key investors in American technological development. This operation is part of a broader strategy in which they have allocated tens of billions to American AI.
We see this in examples such as Humain, the state-owned AI company in Saudi Arabia, which put 3,000 million in xAI at the beginning of the year and that after the merger They have become shares of SpaceX. Also with MGX, a technology investment fund based in Abu Dhabi, which has stakes in OpenAIAnthropic and of course SpaceX.
What do they get in return?. The money they are putting in is tied to a series of demands, the main one being the obligation to build AI infrastructure in their territory. With these agreements they are moving all associated economic activity (employment, tax revenue…) outside the US, in addition to achieving the transfer of technological knowledge. At a geopolitical level, having critical infrastructure protects them from possible crises. It is something that is already happening:
Musk’s ties to the Middle East. Capital from the region has been key in SpaceX’s IPO, to the point that Gulf sovereign funds took priority on the lists subscription. Trust between the tycoon and Middle Eastern investors has been building since, in 2011, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal invested $300 million in what was then Twitter. When Musk bought the social network in 2022, Alwaleed refused to liquidate his share, aligning himself with Musk. Later, xAI merged with SpaceX, so that investment became shares in the company. It is estimated that, after the operation, Alwaleed’s personal fortune has reached 27 billionbecoming one of the big winners.
Image | Xataka with Gemini
In Xataka | Saudi Arabia had 38 billion dollars ready to become the great power of video games. And then Iran appeared
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings