Article content

(Bloomberg) — A unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is pumping further capital into its technology venture with China’s Alibaba Group, taking its total investment into the entity to about $200 million. 

Jada Fund of Funds, wholly owned by the Saudi PIF, is one of several regional and Asian funds participating in eWTP Arabia’s upcoming $1 billion funding round that’s set to conclude early next year. The vehicle will focus on investing in technology and energy startups, eWTP Founder and Managing Partner Jessica Wong said.

Article content

“We have a few funds from different pockets of the PIF,” Wong said in an interview. “We are a strategy partner with Saudi Aramco and we are working very closely.”

Read More: Alibaba, PIF-Backed Fund to Raise $1 Billion for Tech Deals 

Founded in 2019, eWTP raised $400 million for deals that year. It is one of the investors behind SCCC Alibaba Cloud, which also counts Saudi Telecom Co., Alibaba Cloud, and the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence among its backers.

The fund has invested in 16 firms in Asia and the Middle East, and plans to list some portfolio companies on the Saudi stock exchange next year, Wong said. 

For its part, the PIF has been plowing money into tech firms and startups as it seeks to build a venture capital industry and encourage young entrepreneurs to set up their own businesses to diversify the economy and create jobs. 

It created a $1 billion fund of funds for venture capital firms, and also invests directly through its subsidiary, Sanabil.

Share this article in your social network