Silicon Valley VCs seek Middle East funding

Silicon Valley investors are touring the Middle East, seeking to build long-term ties with sovereign wealth funds during the worst funding crunch for venture capital firms in almost a decade. Top technology VCs such as Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, and IVP have jetted teams of executives to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the trips. VCs are, in turn, being encouraged to come to the region, as Gulf officials and young royals seek to diversify their economy away from oil with investments in hot tech sectors such as artificial intelligence. “We came to San Francisco looking for them in 2017. Now, everyone is coming to us,” said Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures at Mubadala Capital, part of Mubadala Investment Company, a $284 billion Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

Read the original article in The Financial Times: Silicon Valley VCs tour Middle East in hunt for funding