Mideast Spymaster Sheikh Tahnoon's AI Stocks Rely on Related-Party Sales - Bloomberg
Two high-flying AI companies backed by an influential Middle Eastern royal have been opening up to the public markets for the first time. Behind the scenes, their rise has been predominantly powered by business with connected parties.
Data analytics firm Presight AI Holding Plc said this month it’s seeking 1.82 billion dirhams ($496 million) in an Abu Dhabi IPO. It’s hoping to repeat the success of sister company Bayanat AI Plc, a geospatial intelligence provider that has more than tripled since it listed in October last year and is now worth $1.9 billion.
They’re both part of the sprawling business empire of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who’s known as the spy chief of the United Arab Emirates. He chairs their parent company G42, which is rapidly expanding as it builds up a portfolio of firms involved in everything from cloud computing to vaccines and driverless cars.
Presight booked $347.9 million of revenue from related-party transactions in 2022 or about 82.3% of total sales, according to its IPO prospectus, which notes the Abu Dhabi government is considered a related party. The year before, 99.8% of its revenue came from related parties.
The company doesn’t specify precisely which clients those sales came from. Other sections of the prospectus note Presight provided pandemic management tools for the UAE amid the spread of Covid-19 and supplied video analytics for Expo 2020 in Dubai. The listing documents warn Presight is “highly dependent” on its domestic operations, though it has plans to boost its international business.
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