Panoramic view of the city skyline at sunset from Dhow Harbor in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 5, 2015.
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DUBAI – Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence company Presight has acquired a 51% stake in AIQ, a technology joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and G42, a large Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud company.
The new ownership structure will give Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. a 49% stake in the company, valuing it at $1.4 billion, according to one company. Associated Press Releases.
ADNOC will take a 4% stake in Presight as it aims to integrate artificial intelligence into more of its operations and services. AIQ will continue to be an independent company within Presight’s portfolio, the release said. AIQ uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve processes in the oil and gas industry.
In an interview with CNBC’s Dan Murphy, AIQ CEO Chris Cooper discussed how his company has benefited from ADNOC and plans to expand its use in the energy industry and around the world.
“We benefit from the vast amount of data that ADNOC provides. We also get insights from ADNOC people. That’s combined with our data scientists and software engineers, and then with the infrastructure required to run the models from Group 42,” Cooper said.
He added that what the acquisition does is “leverage Presight’s breadth and reach as a global data-driven analytics company, take solutions built in the UAE… bring them to global forums and really drive, focus on sustainability, focus on safety, and improve operations for all energy industry companies we can now work with.
Under AIQ’s previous structure, ADNOC held 60% of AIQ’s shares and G42 held 40%. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of ADNOC Group, will take over as Chairman of AIQ.
Abu Dhabi is boosting artificial intelligence jobs and investments. In early April, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42 to help spur its expansion plans and develop the UAE’s status as a technology hub.
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