History and portfolio companies
G42 was founded in 2018 and is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.[6] The company performs AI research and development on computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing via its subsidiary, the Inception Institute of Artificial Intelligence (IIAI).[7]
In January 2020, G42 announced the acquisition of Bayanat for Mapping and Surveying Services LLC, an end-to-end provider of geospatial data products and services, to complement G42's satellite-based services.[8][9] In 2020, state-owned Mubadala Investment Company took a stake in the company, transferring ownership of two information technology companies, Injazat and Khazna, to G42.[10] The next year, American private equity firm Silver Lake invested $800 million for a minority stake.[11][12]
In December 2019, Group 42 announced signing an agreement of strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADDH) to establish a joint venture called Adalytyx.[13]
In June 2020, G42 partnered with Sinopharm for clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine and in March 2021, they decided to produce the vaccine in Abu Dhabi.[14]
In July 2020, G42 announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the two Israeli defense groups, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries to research and develop methods to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which the Israeli subsidiary Elta confirmed.[15][16]
In July 2023, G42 agreed to pay around $100 million to purchase the first of potentially nine supercomputers from Cerebras to deploy its AI technology to create chatbots and analyze genomic and preventive care data. Each supercomputer is capable of 4 exaflops of computing.[17][18][19]
In October 2023, a partnership was announced with OpenAI, the AI research and deployment company responsible for ChatGPT.[14] In November 2023, G42 purchased a $100 million stake in ByteDance,[14] which was divested four months later as an attempt to reassure its U.S. partners.
In 2023, an investment unit, Lunate, was established under the International Holding Company to manage Group 42's China-focused 42X Fund, which has stakes in Beijing's JD.com and ByteDance. Lunate has over 160 employees, and is also overseen by Tahnoon bin Zayed. However, the establishment of a dedicated investment vehicle for China raised concerns around G42 and Peng Xiao's commitment to the US about divesting from China.[20][21]
In 2024, the Abu Dhabi government launched an investment firm specializing in AI technologies called MGX, with G42 and Mubadala as founding partners.[22]
In April 2024, Microsoft announced that it would invest $1.5 billion in G42. As part of the deal, Microsoft's president Brad Smith would join G42's board, and G42 said it would use the Microsoft Azure platform for its AI development and deployment.[23]
On May 22, 2025 G42 in collaboration with OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, SoftBank Group and Cisco announced a partnership to build Stargate UAE.[24]
