Investing $66 billion to increase AI and digital global sovereign wealth funds break $15 trillion for the first time

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the latest report released by Global SWF, a global sovereign wealth fund research agency, shows that in a year where most sovereign wealth funds increased their investment layout in the technology sector and benefited from a prosperous market, the scale of assets managed by global sovereign wealth funds reached a record high of 15 trillion US dollars.

According to the data agency, in 2025, the total investment of sovereign investment institutions in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization reached 66 billion US dollars. Middle Eastern sovereign funds are particularly active in digital investment, with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company leading the way with US$12.9 billion, while the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Qatar Investment Authority have invested US$6 billion and US$4 billion respectively.

The Middle East continues to consolidate its position as a hub for sovereign wealth funds. The total annual investment of the seven major sovereign funds in the Gulf region reached 126 billion US dollars, accounting for 43% of the total investment of global sovereign investment institutions, a record high.

It is worth mentioning that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund became the world's largest sovereign counterparty in 2025 with a total annual investment of US$36.2 billion, with the acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA.US) accounting for the majority of its investment. Excluding this transaction, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala became the most active sovereign fund of the year with a record total investment of US$32.7 billion (involving 40 transactions).

Global SWF said that against the backdrop of a general improvement in the market in 2025, various types of sovereign investment institutions, including public pension funds, have received impressive returns in the fields of fixed income, public stocks, real estate and infrastructure, and their overall strength has increased significantly.

In terms of asset size, US sovereign investment institutions top the list with a management scale of 13.2 trillion US dollars, followed by China and the UAE with 8.2 trillion US dollars and 2.9 trillion US dollars, respectively. According to the report, the US has become the number one destination for sovereign fund investments. In 2025, the US attracted 131.8 billion US dollars of investment in sovereign funds, far exceeding 68.9 billion US dollars in the same period last year.