Binance and OpenAI’s Mysterious Investor
In February, at a private event in Abu Dhabi, Binance founder CZ and OpenAI founder Sam made an appearance together. A mysterious force connected the two men, as they shared a common investment entity—the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX.
On March 12, Binance announced a $2 billion investment from MGX. The key behind-the-scenes investor leading this initiative is MGX’s board member Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (hereafter referred to as Tahnoon).
Tahnoon holds titles resembling that of a “Mother of Dragons”: the son of the founding father of the UAE, National Security Advisor of the UAE, Deputy Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, brother of the President of the UAE, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Royal Group, First Abu Dhabi Bank, the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), International Holding Company (IHC), and Chairman of the Middle East’s largest AI company, G42.
At 56 years old, he controls the UAE’s financial purse, with assets totaling $2 trillion.
This is not the first time Tahnoon has invested in cryptocurrency-related companies. Previously, his company, IHC, invested in the cryptocurrency group Phoenix, listed in Abu Dhabi, whose core business includes the world’s largest Bitcoin mining facility, Phoenix Miner. This facility controls 7% of the global Bitcoin network’s computing power and operates a $650 million joint venture mining facility in Abu Dhabi with the sovereign fund ADQ.
In addition, Phoenix owns the exchange M2.com and the crypto investment firm Cypher Capital. It is worth noting that the senior executive at Phoenix and Chairman of Cypher Capital, Bill Qian, was formerly responsible for Binance Labs.
Today, Tahnoon is not only a key investor in the world’s largest exchange and Bitcoin mining facility, but also a backer of the world’s largest AI companies, with investments in OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic.
A businessman who has been active in the Middle East for years told DeepTechFlow that Tahnoon is easily identifiable—whether indoors or outdoors, he is always wearing sunglasses due to his sensitivity to light.
To meet Tahnoon, one must first navigate through his trusted circle or find common ground in his interests: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, cycling, video games, chess, and longevity (he aims to live to 150). A few lucky people may board his superyacht, Maryah, and play chess under the Persian Gulf’s sunlight.
Cryptocurrency might just be an appetizer, as Tahnoon is currently a fervent AI believer, heavily investing in the sector. However, he is caught in the geopolitical game between China and the United States. Despite his powerful position, he must choose sides between the two superpowers.
Gaming Enthusiast: From Chess to AI
Tahnoon was born in 1968, and three years later, his father Zayed led the formation of the UAE. From an early age, Tahnoon enjoyed his father’s favor, as he was one of the six sons born to Zayed’s most favored wife, Fatima, and was seen as his father’s main successor.
In the mid-1990s, Tahnoon moved to Southern California, using the name “Ben,” where he trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at a San Diego dojo. According to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Eastern European website, he was modest, often arriving early and helping to set up the gym. Later, he revealed his true identity as a prince from Abu Dhabi.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became one of his lifelong hobbies. In 1998, he co-founded the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Nelson. Film producer Bobby Razak is currently making a documentary about Tahnoon, calling him “one of the founders of mixed martial arts,” stating, “Without him, this sport wouldn’t be where it is today.”
Additionally, Tahnoon is an avid cyclist. He converted a palace on his royal estate into a gym, funded the world-class UAE Team Emirates cycling team, and created a cycling paradise on an island near the presidential palace.
He has a particular fondness for the ultra-light Colnago bicycles and had a company purchase a majority stake in the Italian brand in 2020, demonstrating his financial prowess.
But perhaps what excites Tahnoon the most is chess. In the mid-2000s, a small supercomputer named Hydra, located in Abu Dhabi, was given the title of the world’s best chess player. Hydra, a 64-bit supercomputer with a 3.06 GHz Intel Xeon processor, could calculate 200 million operations per second and evaluate 40 moves ahead.
Hydra’s chief designer, Chrilly, stated that their boss was an enthusiastic computer chess player, saying, “This sponsor would spend whole days and nights playing with Hydra.” This mysterious boss was none other than Tahnoon.
In late 2017, Google’s AlphaZero defeated the world’s strongest chess players after just four hours of learning, far surpassing Hydra’s performance. This greatly surprised Tahnoon and made him realize the potential of AI.
In the following year (2018), he appointed former MicroStrategy CTO Xiao Peng as the CEO to establish the artificial intelligence company G42. If you are a science fiction fan, you will understand the significance of the name—42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Here’s a small Easter egg: If you Google “the answer to life, the universe, and everything,” the search result will be 42.
G42: The Middle East’s Alibaba + Tencent
G42 is hailed as “the Alibaba + Tencent of the Middle East,” a leader in the UAE and Middle East AI sectors. G42 owns several artificial intelligence companies, including Core42, AIQ, Presight, healthcare companies like M42 and Hayat Biotech, data center service providers like Khazna, and geospatial intelligence companies like Bayanat.
The management of G42 includes several Chinese figures, such as G42 CEO Xiao Peng and Hayat Biotech CEO Cong Hongbin. Its G42 Expansion Fund (42X Fund) has an office in Shanghai and recruited former JD.com Vice President Hu Ningfeng in 2023 to lead its operations in China.
Power Struggles and Deals
Despite being the recipient of a “golden ticket” in life, Tahnoon has faced challenges. Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, had about twenty sons. Tahnoon and his brother (Mohamed) belonged to the “Bani Fatima” group—sons born to Zayed’s most beloved wife, Fatima.
After Zayed’s death in 2004, Tahnoon’s brother Khalifa became the President of the UAE, and the eldest son of the Bani Fatima group was appointed as the Crown Prince.
In 2014, President Khalifa suffered a severe stroke, and (Mohamed) took over national affairs, triggering a succession dispute.
Tahnoon insisted that the tradition should be maintained, meaning that as long as the sons of Zayed were physically and mentally capable, they should continue to hold power. Thus, he was the most competitive candidate for the throne.
(Mohamed) insisted that his son Khalid should be appointed Crown Prince.
In response, Tahnoon presented evidence showing that (Mohamed)‘s strategy violated their father’s will on succession. This was reminiscent of many historical struggles for power between uncles and nephews in Chinese history.
Eventually, the struggle ended with negotiations and compromise. The brothers reached an agreement: Tahnoon relinquished the position of Crown Prince in exchange for significant control over the country’s economic assets.
In 2023, Tahnoon was appointed as the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the country’s largest sovereign wealth fund. A few weeks later, Khalid was appointed Crown Prince.
At this point, Tahnoon became the “CFO” of the UAE, overseeing the two largest sovereign wealth funds, ADIA and ADQ, the UAE’s largest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and his massive business empire, which spans real estate, agriculture, healthcare, energy, industry, shipping, hospitality, and retail.
According to the latest data from Global SWF, Tahnoon controls assets worth over $2 trillion.
However, according to U.S. media reports, people who have interacted with Abu Dhabi in recent years have consistently reported that Tahnoon’s power has expanded significantly beyond the financial sector. He is now responsible for diplomatic contacts with Iran, Qatar, and Israel, and has built connections with people in Trump’s circle.
MGX participated in the $6 billion funding round for Elon Musk’s xAI. Its asset management company Lunate added $1.5 billion to Jared Kushner’s Affinity, which is managed by Trump’s son-in-law.
Tahnoon’s power extends beyond wealth control to intelligence and technology. As the National Security Advisor, he oversees the UAE’s intelligence agencies and uses them to propel G42 into deep AI and biotech investments.
After the conclusion of his power struggle, Tahnoon encountered new challenges on the AI front, this time within the context of geopolitical conflicts.
AI and Geopolitics
Before 2023, G42 maintained close cooperation with Chinese tech giant Huawei, with many Chinese senior executives involved in the company’s operations. This caused great dissatisfaction among U.S. hawks.
“You have to pick a side,” former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo bluntly told him during a meeting in Washington in 2023. “We welcome investment, but you cannot play both sides of the U.S.-China divide.”
In August 2023, the U.S. imposed significant restrictions, limiting the export of NVIDIA GPUs to the Middle East. Any company using Huawei technology was prohibited from receiving these exports.
With the choice of “either-or,” Tahnoon had to make a decision.
In early 2024, G42 announced it would sever ties with China and remove all Chinese-made technology. Even Huawei routers in G42 offices were removed, and G42 sold its stake in ByteDance.
In April 2024, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion investment in G42, acquiring a minority stake, and Microsoft President Brad Smith joined the G42 board.
In the summer of 2024, Tahnoon embarked on a diplomatic tour in the U.S., meeting with tech giants like Musk, Zuckerberg, Gates, Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), and Bezos (Amazon founder), and had discussions with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and even President Biden.
On the other hand, in March 2024, Tahnoon led the formation of the investment firm MGX, collaborating with BlackRock, Microsoft, and others to invest in the AI industry, specifically focusing on U.S. AI.
MGX CEO Ahmed Yahia stated that the company plans to allocate 70% to 80% of its funds to the U.S. MGX made substantial investments in OpenAI, Musk’s xAI, and Amazon-backed Anthropic, and is also one of the few backers of the SoftBank-initiated “Star Gate” project.
These efforts quickly paid off. The U.S. authorized NVIDIA to sell GPUs to G42, some of which are already in use in Abu Dhabi, including large quantities of NVIDIA H100 chips.
In the global AI race, Tahnoon’s strategic shift is not just a business decision, but a major gamble that could influence the future of the nation.
When we examine this U.S.-China tech battle, it is evident that whether they are tech giants, national leaders, or royals with trillions in assets, all are mere participants in the currents of history, each betting on an uncertain future.
This article is a collaborative repost from DeepTech.