The mysterious financial backer behind Binance and OpenAI
In February, at a private event in Abu Dhabi, Binance founder CZ and OpenAI founder Sam appeared together.
A magical connection linked the two, simply because they shared a common investment institution—the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX.
On March 12, Binance announced a $2 billion investment from MGX.
MGX board chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (hereinafter referred to as Tahnoon) is the behind-the-scenes financier driving all this.
Tahnoon holds a title reminiscent of a dragon mother: son of the founding father of the UAE, National Security Advisor of the UAE, Deputy Supreme Commander of Abu Dhabi, brother of the UAE President, Chairman of the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Chairman of the Royal Group, Chairman of the UAE's largest bank First Abu Dhabi Bank, Chairman of the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ), Chairman of International Holding Company (IHC), and Chairman of the largest AI company in the Middle East, G42.
At 56 years old, he controls the UAE's purse, with assets totaling up to $20 trillion.
This is not the first time Tahnoon has invested in cryptocurrency-related businesses.
Previously, Tahnoon's company IHC invested in the cryptocurrency group Phoenix, listed in Abu Dhabi, whose core business is the world's largest Bitcoin mining operation, Phoenix Miner, which has 7% of the global Bitcoin network's computing power, and operates a $650 million joint mining operation with ADQ in Abu Dhabi.
Additionally, Phoenix also owns the exchange M2.com and the cryptocurrency investment firm Cypher Capital. Notably, Bill Qian, a senior executive at Phoenix and chairman of Cypher Capital, is the former head of Binance Labs.
Today, Tahnoon is not only a financier for the world's largest exchange and Bitcoin mining operation but also for the largest AI companies globally; OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic are all within his investment portfolio.
A businessman who has long been in the Middle East told Deep Tide TechFlow that it is easy to identify Tahnoon; whether indoors or outdoors, he always wears sunglasses because he is sensitive to light.
To meet Tahnoon, one must first interact with his trusted inner circle or find common ground with his hobbies: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, cycling, video games, chess, and longevity (aiming to live to 150 years old).
A few lucky individuals can board his super yacht Maryah to play chess under the sun of the Persian Gulf.
Cryptocurrency may just be an appetizer; Tahnoon is currently an ardent believer in AI, heavily investing in it, but is deeply entangled in the U.S.-China standoff. Even someone with Tahnoon's level of power must take a side and choose between the U.S. and China.
Gaming Enthusiasts: From Chess to AI
Born in 1968, three years later, his father Zayed led the establishment of the UAE. From a young age, Tahnoon was favored as he is one of the six sons born to Zayed's most cherished wife, Fatima, and is regarded as his primary successor.
In the mid-1990s, Tahnoon came to Southern California and entered a Brazilian jiu-jitsu training center in San Diego under the name 'ben.' According to reports from the Eastern European Brazilian jiu-jitsu website, he was quite humble, often arriving before others and helping to set up the mats, until later revealing his true identity as a prince from Abu Dhabi.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has also become one of his lifelong hobbies; in 1998, he co-founded the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship with Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Nelson. Filmmaker Bobby Razak is currently shooting a documentary about Tahnoon, calling him 'one of the founding figures of mixed martial arts' and stating, 'Without him, this sport would not have reached where it is today.'
Additionally, Tahnoon is also an enthusiast of cycling.
He transformed a palace within the royal estate into a gym, funded the world-class cycling team UAE Team Emirates, and rides on islands near the presidential palace, which he has transformed into a cycling paradise.
He has a fondness for the ultra-light Colnago bicycle and even allowed a company to acquire most of the shares of the Italian brand in 2020, showcasing his financial prowess at that moment.
But perhaps what excites Tahnoon the most is chess.
In the mid-2000s, a small supercomputer named Hydra (the Hydra) located in Abu Dhabi was awarded the title of the world's best chess player; it was a 64-bit supercomputer with a 3.06GHz Intel Xeon processor, capable of performing 200 million calculations per second and considering 40 moves.
Hydra's chief designer Chrilly described their boss as the most passionate computer chess enthusiast, mentioning: 'This patron enjoys playing games with Hydra all day and night.'
This mysterious boss participates in online chess competitions under the alias zor_champ, forming a human-machine combination with Hydra, often defeating opponents with overwhelming advantage.
This mysterious boss is Tahnoon.
At the end of 2017, Google's AlphaZero defeated the world's strongest chess player after only four hours of learning, far surpassing Hydra's performance, which greatly shocked Tahnoon and made him realize the potential of AI.
The following year (2018), he appointed former MicroStrategy CTO Xiao Peng as CEO, founding the artificial intelligence company G42.
If you are a sci-fi fan, you should understand the deeper meaning; 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.' Here’s a little Easter egg: if you search for 'the answer to life, the universe, and everything' on Google, the result will be 42.
G42 is hailed as 'the Alibaba + Tencent of the Middle East' and is a leader in the AI field not only in the UAE but also in the Middle East. G42 currently has artificial intelligence companies Core42, AIQ, Presight, healthcare firms M42, Hayat Biotech, data center service providers Khazna, and geospatial intelligence firms Bayanat, among others.
The G42 management team includes several Chinese figures, such as G42 CEO Xiao Peng and Hayat Biotech CEO Cong Hongbin. The G42 Expansion Fund (referred to as the 42X Fund) has an office in Shanghai and recruited Hu Ningfeng, former Vice President of JD.com and head of the strategic investment department, who joined the 42X Fund in 2023 as the head of the China region.
Power Struggles and Deals
Despite being a life winner envied by countless people for obtaining a uterine lottery, Tahnoon has still faced challenges in life.
The founding father of the UAE, Zayed, had about twenty sons, among whom Tahnoon and his brother Mohammed belong to the Bani Fatima group—born of Zayed's most favored wife, Fatima, and are considered his main successors.
After Zayed's death in 2004, Tahnoon's brother Khalifa became the UAE president, while the eldest of the Bani Fatima brothers, Mohammed, was appointed crown prince.
In 2014, President Khalifa suffered a severe stroke, and Mohammed took over national affairs, leading to the subsequent struggle for the next crown prince.
Tahnoon firmly believes that tradition should be maintained, meaning that as long as Zayed's sons are healthy and mentally sharp, they should continue to hold power, making him the most competitive potential candidate.
Mohammed insists that his son Khalid should be appointed as crown prince.
In response, Tahnoon even presented evidence showing that Mohammed's strategy contradicted their father's wishes for the successor. This inevitably brings to mind numerous stories in Chinese history of uncles and nephews seizing power.
In the end, the struggle concluded with negotiations and compromises; the brothers reached an agreement: Tahnoon gave up becoming the crown prince in exchange for significant control over the country's economic assets.
In 2023, Tahnoon was appointed chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the largest sovereign wealth fund in the country. A few weeks later, Khalid was appointed crown prince.
Thus, Tahnoon has become the 'CFO' of the UAE, overseeing the two largest sovereign wealth funds, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ), the UAE's largest bank First Abu Dhabi Bank, along with his vast business empire covering real estate, agriculture, healthcare, energy, industry, shipping, catering, and retail.
According to the latest data from Global SWF, Tahnoon controls over $20 trillion in assets.
However, according to U.S. media reports, those who have interacted with Abu Dhabi in recent years consistently report that Tahnoon's power has significantly expanded, surpassing the financial sector; he is responsible for diplomatic contacts with Iran, Qatar, and Israel and has established connections with Trump insiders.
MGX participated in the $6 billion funding for Musk's xAI, with its asset management company Lunate adding a $1.5 billion investment to Affinity, managed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Tahnoon's power is reflected not only in wealth control but also extends to intelligence and technology fields. As National Security Advisor, he oversees the UAE's intelligence agencies and uses his position to establish G42, deeply involved in artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
After ending the power struggle, Tahnoon encountered new challenges on the AI road, geopolitical conflicts.
AI and Geopolitics
Before 2023, G42 maintained close cooperation with Chinese tech giant Huawei, while many Chinese executives were involved in company operations, which greatly displeased U.S. hawks.
“You have to choose a side,” said Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, clearly stating during a meeting in Washington in 2023: welcome investment, but you cannot straddle both China and the U.S.
In August 2023, the U.S. implemented significant restrictions limiting the export of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) to the Middle East, and any company using Huawei technology is prohibited from receiving these export products.
It's a choice between two options; Tahnoon had to make a decision.
In early 2024, G42 announced it would sever ties with China and remove all Chinese-made technology, even dismantling Huawei routers in G42's offices, and G42 also sold its shares in ByteDance.
In April 2024, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion investment in G42, acquiring a minority stake, and Microsoft President Brad Smith joined the G42 board.
In the summer of 2024, Tahnoon embarked on a diplomatic tour of the United States, meeting with tech giants including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), and Bezos (Amazon founder), and even discussed with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and President Biden at the White House.
On the other hand, in March 2024, Tahnoon led the establishment of the investment institution MGX, collaborating with BlackRock, Microsoft, and others to invest in the AI industry, specifically in U.S. AI.
MGX CEO Ahmed Yahia stated that the company plans to invest 70% to 80% of its funds in the United States. MGX has made significant investments in OpenAI, Elon Musk's xAI, and Amazon-backed Anthropic, and is also one of the few supporters of the SoftBank-initiated 'Interstellar Gateway' project.
These efforts quickly paid off. The U.S. has authorized Nvidia to sell GPUs to G42, some of which have already been used in Abu Dhabi, including a large number of Nvidia H100.
In the wave of global AI competition, Tahnoon's strategic shift is not merely a business decision but a significant bet concerning the fate of the nation.
When we examine this technological struggle between the U.S. and China, it is not difficult to find that whether they are tech giants, national leaders, or royal family members controlling trillions in assets, they are merely participants in the historical tide, each betting their chips on an uncertain future.
This article is collaboratively reprinted from: Deep Tide
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