#AbuDhabi: Mubadala CEO Backs AI, Private Credit Bets Despite Market Doubts - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi: Mubadala CEO Backs AI, Private Credit Bets Despite Market Doubts - Bloomberg

Mubadala Investment Co.’s chief executive said the Abu Dhabi wealth fund has “a lot of conviction” in artificial intelligence, despite investor concerns about exuberance in the sector.

“Leaving the noise and the hype aside, I think we have a very clear view of what we think are the investable spaces within the technology space,” Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Davos on Monday. “Particularly when it comes to AI enablement, there are a lot of aspects that I think we believe in.”

AI companies are raising record sums at elevated valuations, while lenders across public and private markets are pouring capital into data-center projects, prompting some investors to warn of a potential bubble.

Hours earlier, the chief executive of the Qatar Investment Authority said the fund would take a more selective approach to AI investments in the year ahead.

Mubadala also remains confident about its private credit investments, even as the asset class faces increased scrutiny.

Returns from its private credit portfolio were in the mid-double digits in 2025, Al Mubarak said. “We remain quite bullish and firm on that space.”

His comments echo those of deputy group CEO Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, who in December dismissed concerns about structural weaknesses in private credit, saying Mubadala’s investments were holding up well.

Investor unease intensified last year after a pair of collapses exposed losses at banks and investment firms. Lower returns and concerns about credit quality have since dampened enthusiasm for the $1.7 trillion market, prompting some investors to pull capital from private credit vehicles.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, Al Mubarak said Mubadala aims to remain agnostic. “We try to pick our sectors right, we try to position ourselves with the right partners — west, east, north, south.”

He said the fund has historically been underinvested in Asia but is now expanding its footprint, citing strong performance in South Korea, Japan and China in 2025. “I think it worked very well for us.”