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Mariam Al-Yazidi

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  • MGX Fund I closed at $49 billion, above its original $45 billion target size.
  • Backers came from the Gulf, North America, Asia, and Europe.
  • The fund holds positions in 14 companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and SpaceX.
  • MGX targets more than $100 billion in assets under management over the coming years.

$49 billion AI fund by Abu Dhabi’s MGX closed this week above its original target. The firm set out to raise $45 billion and finished the round with $49 billion. Investors from the Gulf, North America, Asia, and Europe supplied the new pool of capital. MGX said the fund gives backers exposure across the whole artificial intelligence technology stack. Since launch, the vehicle has taken positions in 14 separate companies around the world. You should read the size of this raise as a signal about capital concentration. Abu Dhabi AI investment now sits near the centre of the global technology finance system.

MGX Fund I holds stakes in OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Binance, SpaceX and TikTok USDS. Mubadala Investment Company and technology group G42 established the firm back in March 2024. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, chairs the MGX board of directors. He works at the same time as national security adviser for the United Arab Emirates. At launch, the company named AI infrastructure, semiconductors and core AI applications as targets. Fund I follows the same three-part plan with a much larger pool of money.

Inside the biggest dedicated AI vehicle on record

Bloomberg reported the raise puts the two-year-old firm among the sector’s most consequential investors. MGX plans to deploy up to $10 billion each year for the coming years. Executives have set a goal of more than $100 billion in assets under management. A sovereign wealth fund normally deploys state savings and avoids outside limited partners entirely. MGX broke with the pattern and raised institutional money from investors on four continents. Reports put the minimum ticket size for entry at around $500 million per investor.

From my standpoint, the structure matters more than the headline number attached to it. Sheikh Tahnoon described the company’s purpose when Abu Dhabi first announced the venture in 2024. He said the emirate was “establishing a UAE national champion focused on AI and advanced technologies”. The $49 billion AI fund by Abu Dhabi’s MGX now gives weight to the claim. United States senators have already asked MGX to preserve documents tied to its Binance stake.

What the $49 billion AI fund by Abu Dhabi’s MGX buys next

Fund I spreads its capital across three layers of the artificial intelligence supply chain. AI infrastructure occupies the middle layer, covering data centres, power access and compute platforms. Power access, land and construction timelines shape every serious wager on AI infrastructure today. In October 2025, MGX helped acquire Aligned Data Centres in a $40 billion deal. BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners joined the consortium behind one of the largest infrastructure deals. MGX, Nvidia, Bpifrance and Mistral AI back a French campus targeting three gigawatts of compute. The $49 billion AI fund by Abu Dhabi’s MGX buys time as much as assets.

MGX co-led Anthropic’s $30 billion round in February and joined its $65 billion Series H. Dealroom counts a record $416.6 billion flowing into AI companies during this calendar year. Anthropic and OpenAI absorbed most of the capital, and MGX holds stakes in both. S&P puts Abu Dhabi’s net asset position near 358 per cent of national output. The $49 billion AI fund by Abu Dhabi’s MGX will face its test through deployment. Watch the pace of spending, the choice of chips, and the location of new compute.

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  • Abu Dhabi, AI, Economy, MGX, Mubadala

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Apple's iPhone Duo
  • iPhone

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone, and it opens like a small book into a 7.6-inch screen. Closed, you hold a 5.4-inch outer display that fits in a pocket. Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so a video or app scales cleanly as you move between them. Stand it up on a table, and it works hands-free for calls or video. Apple showed the phone on September 9 at its Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, where new chief executive John Ternus led his first keynote. He said rival foldables often feel like two phones stuck together. The Duo tries to feel like one device that changes size when you need it.

What the screens and camera can do

Open the Duo and the inner display runs 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. A custom nano-texture finish cuts glare and hides the crease, the seam that has annoyed foldable owners for years. Peak brightness reaches 3000 nits, so the screen stays readable outdoors. Inside, an under-display FaceTime camera keeps the view whole, with no notch breaking the screen. The rear camera leans on a 48MP Dual Fusion system with a main and an ultra-wide lens. There is no telephoto, a trade Apple made to save room in the thin body. Smart Take reads the scene and snaps the photo when everyone poses, so you can stand in the shot instead of behind it. You can also shoot 48MP photos and 4K video at up to 120 frames per second.

iPhone Duo specs that matter for daily use

The iPhone Duo specs point to a phone built for long, heavy days. Inside sits the A20 Pro chip with a vapor chamber that spreads heat during games and video edits. Apple pairs it with a dual-battery design that fits more cells into the frame. You get up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen and up to 44 hours on the outer one. Plug it in, and it reaches 50 percent in about 20 minutes. A Grade 5 titanium frame and a precision hinge give the body its strength, and Touch ID moves to the side button in place of Face ID.

iPhone Duo prices are ridiculously high

Here is the part your wallet cares about. The iPhone Duo price starts at $1,999 for 256GB in the United States, which makes it the most expensive iPhone in the lineup. In the UAE, iPhone Duo starts at AED 8,499 for the 256 GB, AED 9,349 for the 512 GB, AED 11,049 for the 1 TB, and the laptop-price level of AED 13,599 for the 2 TB. Preorders open October 16, and the iPhone Duo release date lands on October 23. Apple plans a first wave across more than 70 countries, then adds 28 more on October 30. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts near $1,899.

Why the foldable iPhone arrives only now

Apple waited years while Samsung and others sold foldables. Now the foldable iPhone brings iOS 27 features built for two screens, like Split View and apps that respond to how you hold the phone. eSIM handles the connection, since there is no SIM tray anywhere. Apple Pencil support arrives later in 2026. That gap of a few weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro points to a slower, careful rollout for a harder build. If you have wanted a phone that turns into a small tablet without feeling clumsy, this is Apple’s answer, and you can hold one this month.

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Work from Park initiative
  • Business

The Work from Park initiative puts bookable workspaces inside Dubai’s public parks, starting with Al Barsha Pond Park. Dubai Municipality announced the programme on 19 April 2026 and said it had signed two memoranda of cooperation to deliver it. One went to Group AMANA, which builds the units, and the other to Letswork LLC, which operates them.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises

The structure is a public-private partnership. Dubai Municipality provides the park and the mandate. Private firms handle design, construction, and daily operation. The municipality said the model gives the private sector a route into public facilities while each site keeps its role as a park.

Target users are entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and anyone doing remote work in Dubai. Content creators get dedicated production rooms, which the municipality said are meant to strengthen their place in the emirate’s creative economy.

Letswork runs the booking side. Users reserve space through the Letswork app, check in on arrival and use one membership across the company’s network of venues. The offer covers desks by the hour, event space, podcast recording and production rooms for creators. Letswork will also run training programmes and group sessions for creative talent and new businesses.

How the Work from Park initiative is built

Group AMANA delivers the first site through its DuBox unit. DuBox builds the workspace modules in a factory, then transports them to the park and assembles them on site. The municipality said this shortens the build schedule, reduces waste and lowers the environmental footprint compared with conventional construction. Units can be reconfigured later as demand shifts.

The Al Barsha Pond Park site was scheduled to open in May 2026. Letswork now lists it as a bookable venue on its platform. The listing describes modular pods with high-speed Wi-Fi, power and climate-controlled seating, plus podcast studios and creative production rooms. Members can book day passes, meeting rooms and private offices under one Letswork membership.

Dubai Municipality said the Work from Park initiative would add more sites across the emirate later in 2026. Locations and opening dates for those have yet to be confirmed.

Bader Anwahi, CEO of the Public Facilities Agency at Dubai Municipality, said the partnerships combine advanced construction methods with private sector expertise to produce public infrastructure “that is flexible, sustainable, and aligned with modern lifestyles and work patterns.”

Richard Abboud, CEO of Group AMANA, said modular construction lets the company build efficient, adaptable units at speed.

Why the Work from Park initiative fits Dubai’s planning goals

The programme sits under three policy frameworks. Dubai’s 2040 Parks and Greenery Strategy targets 95 million park visits a year by 2040. Land use falls under the Dubai Urban Plan 2040. Economic targets through 2033 come from the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.

Omar AlMheiri, co-founder of Letswork, said the partnership would add dedicated creative spaces and podcast studios. He described it as a step toward changing where and how people in the UAE do flexible work.

Dubai Municipality describes the Work from Park initiative as the first of its kind. Existing Dubai coworking spaces operate from office towers, hotels and retail sites. This programme moves the format onto municipal parkland, with the municipality as host and a private platform as operator.

Outdoor workspaces in Dubai face one obvious constraint: summer heat. The Letswork listing addresses this with climate-controlled seating inside the pods. Demand across a full year of operation will show whether the format holds. The second site, once announced, will be the next signal of how fast the municipality intends to scale.

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