Article content(Bloomberg) — The governor of Saudi Arabia’s nearly $1 trillion Public Investment Fund kicked off the eighth edition of Future Investment Initiative highlighting the kingdom’s focus on domestic investments and a push into artificial intelligence. “People used to come to us and ask for money,” Yasir Al Rumayyan said on Tuesday on a panel at the FII. “We are now seeing a shift from people wanting to take our money to people wanting to co-invest.” The fund targets bringing global investments down to 18% from 30% of its portfolio, he said, in one of his most direct comments yet about the PIF’s focus on its national economy. Still, Rumayyan stressed that the absolute dollar amount for overseas deals was still growing. Article content The PIF — like other regional sovereign investors — is increasingly flexing its financial muscle and wants foreign firms to do business on its terms. In previous years, the titans of finance would flock to the FII to raise money and invest it around the world. Now, they’re faced with a kingdom that’s more domestically-focused than ever. Speaking to David Rubenstein at the event, Al Rumayyan also shed light on Saudi Arabia’s ambitions in AI. “We either have discussions or initial discussions to invest in AI and the reason why we are investing in AI is Saudi Arabia is very well positioned to be a global hub, not only a regional hub,” he said. The kingdom’s ambition is to become a top 15 nation globally for AI by adopting the tech domestically in the next five years and then exporting it after 2030. There are at least half a dozen panels at FII focusing on AI in particular, including one featuring Andreessen Horowitz’s Ben Horowitz. The PIF is in early talks to partner with the venture capital giant on an AI fund, which may grow to as large as $40 billion. It’s already backing an investment firm with $100 billion in capital that will plow money into industries including semiconductors and tech. Al Rumayyan said AI could add nearly $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with the technology’s role as an economic driver becoming a benchmark of national power. “Artificial general intelligence marks the next frontier, promising machines capable of problem solving and driving productivities that will impact every sector from health care to energy,” he said. —With assistance from Christine Burke, Abeer Abu Omar, Nicolas Parasie and Salma El Wardany. Share this article in your social network {Categories} _Category: Takes{/Categories} {URL}https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/saudi-pif-governor-talks-up-kingdoms-domestic-focus-and-ai-push{/URL} {Author}Bloomberg News{/Author} {Image}{/Image} {Keywords}PMN Business,BLOOM,energy{/Keywords} {Source}POV{/Source} {Thumb}{/Thumb}