Presight buys majority stake in technology joint venture AIQ

DUBAI — Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm Presight has bought a 51 percent stake in AIQ, a technology joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, and G42, a major Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud company.

The new ownership structure will see ADNOC hold 49% of the company and give it a valuation of $1.4 billion, according to a joint company press release.

ADNOC will in turn get a 4% stake in Presight as it aims to integrate AI into more of its operations and services. AIQ, for its part, will continue to operate as a standalone company within Presight’s portfolio, the announcement said. AIQ uses AI and machine learning to improve processes in the oil and gas industry.

Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy, AIQ CEO Chris Cooper discussed how his firm has benefited from ADNOC and how it plans to expand its applications in the energy industry and globally.

“We have benefited from the huge volumes of data that ADNOC provides. We also had the insights of the people who come from ADNOC. [is] combined with our data scientists and software engineers and also then combined with the infrastructure that is needed to manage these models that come from Group 42,” Cooper said.

What the acquisition does, he added, is “leverage the breadth and scope that Presight has as a global data-driven analytics company to take those solutions that are built here in the UAE and … bring them to a global forum, and really an aspiration, a focus on sustainability, a focus on safety and improving the operations of all the energy industry companies that we can now work with.”

Under AIQ’s previous structure, it was owned 60% by ADNOC and 40% by G42. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of ADNOC Group, will take over as AIQ Chairman.

Abu Dhabi is moving forward with AI work and investment. Earlier in April, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42, helping to drive expansion plans and to develop the UAE’s position as a technology hub.