Saudi Arabia Taps Former Dell Executive to Run $100 Billion Firm

Fahad Abuljadayel, Bloomberg News

Amit Midha , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia named a former executive at Dell Technologies to lead a new investment firm backed by $100 billion in capital from the Public Investment Fund, that’s been set up to plow money into everything from technology to semiconductors and capital goods.

Amit Midha, formerly president for Asia Pacific and Japan, Global Digital Cities at Dell Technologies, was named as chief executive officer of the new entity. “Alat is a company focused on the transformation of leading global companies and building a world-class sustainable industrial and electronics hub in Saudi Arabia,” Midha wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

The vehicle will be chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and is set to officially launch on Feb. 20, with an announcement of its first wave of investments. It expects to sign deals with key international players and invest in large industrial firms the kingdom wants to see set up operations locally.

The Public Investment Fund is looking at making a “sizable investment” this year into the semiconductor industry, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha told Bloomberg News in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. “They plan to make an announcement on a particular champion within the space to lead the Saudi efforts,” he said at the time, declining to give further details.

The latest initiative underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to transform itself from an oil-dependent economy to a powerhouse that makes money on everything from tech to metals, mining and tourism. The Public Investment Fund has rapidly amassed $700 billion in assets and aims to control $1 trillion in 2025.

Another key ambition for Saudi is to develop an auto manufacturing hub on the West Coast. US EV-maker Lucid Group Inc. is already assembling cars there and is set to be joined by Hyundai Motor Co. and Ceer, a brand created by the PIF. Plans for the hub involve developing downstream industries, including by making chips and batteries.

Read More: Saudi Arabia’s Next Act Is Supplying the World With EV Batteries

--With assistance from Matthew Martin and Dinesh Nair.