Invest Qatar, investment group Aurion Capital and LG NOVA, LG Electronics’ Silicon Valley innovation center, have signed a memorandum of understanding to build up technology investment and venture building in Qatar. They announced it at the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg, held in New York during the UN General Assembly.
What they plan to do
The MoU covers innovation programs and scale-up support in five areas: artificial intelligence, digital health, fintech, digital infrastructure, and sports, media and entertainment. The core of it is a regional hub at Qatar Science & Technology Park for technologies from LG NOVA’s portfolio. From there, those companies can expand across the Gulf and the wider Middle East and North Africa. No fund sizes were announced.
Each side brings something different. Invest Qatar brings government support and market access. Aurion Capital brings investment capital. LG NOVA brings a pipeline of startups it has already incubated or partnered with.
Qatar’s pitch
“Qatar offers international investors a gateway to the MENA region and a natural pathway for sustainable regional expansion,” says Sheikh Ali bin Alwaleed Al-Thani, CEO of Invest Qatar. Ali Diallo, founding CEO of Aurion Capital, points to the country’s “strategic position between East and West.” Sokwoo Rhee, EVP of corporate innovation at LG Electronics, says the deal lets LG “connect our ecosystems across the world.”
Gulf states are competing hard to pull tech companies and venture activity into the region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been doing it with large sovereign funds. Qatar is building its own version through partnerships like this one.