In February, at a private event in Abu Dhabi, Binance founder CZ and OpenAI founder Sam made simultaneous appearances.

A magical force connected the two, simply because they shared a common investment institution—the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX.

On March 12, Binance announced it had secured a $2 billion investment from MGX.

The chairman of the MGX board, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (hereinafter referred to as Tahnoon), is the behind-the-scenes financier orchestrating it all.

Tahnoon holds a title akin to that of a "Mother of Dragons": son of the founding father of the UAE, national security advisor of the UAE, deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, brother of the UAE president, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), chairman of Royal Group, chairman of the largest bank in the UAE, First Abu Dhabi Bank, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ), chairman of the International Holding Company (IHC), and chairman of the largest AI company in the Middle East, G42.

At 56 years old, he controls the UAE's purse strings, with assets totaling up to $2 trillion.

This is not Tahnoon's first investment in cryptocurrency-related enterprises.

Previously, his company IHC invested in the cryptocurrency group Phoenix, which is listed in Abu Dhabi. Its core business is the world's largest Bitcoin mining operation, Phoenix Miner, which holds 7% of the global Bitcoin network's computing power and operates a $650 million joint mining venture with the sovereign fund ADQ in Abu Dhabi.

Additionally, Phoenix owns the exchange M2.com and the crypto investment firm Cypher Capital. Notably, Phoenix's executives and Cypher Capital's chairman Bill Qian is a former head of Binance Labs.

Tahnoon is now not only a financier for the world's largest exchange and Bitcoin mining operation but also for the largest AI companies globally, with investments in OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic.

A businessman who has long been in the Middle East told Deep Tide TechFlow that identifying Tahnoon is simple: whether indoors or outdoors, he always wears sunglasses because he is sensitive to light.

To meet Tahnoon, one must first engage with his trusted inner circle or intersect with his hobbies: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, cycling, video games, chess, and longevity (he claims he wants to live to 150 years old).

A few lucky individuals can board his superyacht Maryah and play chess under the sun in the Persian Gulf.

Cryptocurrency may just be an appetizer; Tahnoon is currently a fervent AI believer, pouring substantial funds into AI while being deeply entrenched in the geopolitical game between China and the U.S. Even someone with Tahnoon's level of power must choose sides, making a binary choice between the two.

Gaming Enthusiast: From Chess to AI

Born in 1968, Tahnoon was favored from a young age, being one of the six sons of Zayed, the most beloved wife, Fatima, and seen as his primary successor.

In the mid-1990s, Tahnoon moved to Southern California, entering a Brazilian jiu-jitsu training center in San Diego under the name "ben." According to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Eastern European website, he was quite humble, often arriving early and helping to set up the mats, until he later revealed his true identity as a prince from Abu Dhabi.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu became one of his lifelong passions, and in 1998, he co-founded the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship with Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Nelson. Filmmaker Bobby Razak is currently shooting a documentary about Tahnoon, calling him "one of the founders of mixed martial arts," stating, "Without him, the sport wouldn't be where it is today."

Additionally, Tahnoon is a cycling enthusiast.

He converted a palace within the royal estate into a gym, sponsors the top cycling team UAE Team Emirates, and rides on an island near the presidential palace, which he transformed into a cycling paradise.

He has a particular fondness for ultra-light Colnago bicycles, going so far as to have a company acquire a majority stake in the Italian brand in 2020, showcasing his financial prowess.

But perhaps what excites Tahnoon the most is chess.

In the mid-2000s, a small supercomputer in Abu Dhabi named Hydra (the nine-headed serpent) was dubbed the world's best chess player. It was a 64-bit supercomputer with a 3.06GHz Intel Xeon processor capable of 200 million calculations per second, thinking 40 moves ahead.

Hydra's chief designer, Chrilly, stated that their boss was the most passionate computer chess enthusiast, mentioning, "This financier loves to play games with Hydra day and night."

This mysterious boss participated in online chess tournaments under the alias zor_champ, forming a human-computer team with Hydra, often defeating opponents with overwhelming advantages.

This mysterious boss is Tahnoon.

At the end of 2017, Google's AlphaZero defeated the world's strongest chess player after only four hours of learning, far surpassing Hydra's performance, shocking Tahnoon and making him realize AI's potential.

The following year (2018), he appointed former MicroStrategy CTO Xiao Peng as CEO, founding the artificial intelligence company G42.

If you're a sci-fi fan, you should understand the deeper meaning; 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Here's a little Easter egg: if you search "the answer to life, the universe, and everything" on Google, the result is 42.

G42 is hailed as "the Alibaba + Tencent of the Middle East," a leader in the AI field in the UAE and the broader Middle East. G42 currently has AI companies such as Core42, AIQ, Presight, healthcare companies M42, Hayat Biotech, data center service providers Khazna, and geospatial intelligence companies Bayanat.

The management of G42 includes several Chinese figures, such as G42 CEO Xiao Peng and Hayat Biotech CEO Cong Hongbin. The G42 Expansion Fund (referred to as the 42X Fund) has an office in Shanghai and recruited former JD Group Vice President and head of the strategic investment department Hu Ningfeng, who joined the 42X Fund in 2023 as the head of the China region.

Image: Xiao Peng

Power Struggles and Deals

Despite being a life winner envied by countless people due to his privileged background, Tahnoon has faced challenges in his life.

The founding father of the UAE, Zayed, had about twenty sons, among whom Tahnoon and his brother Mohamed belong to the "Bani Fatima" group—the six sons born to Zayed's most favored wife, Fatima.

After Zayed's death in 2004, Tahnoon's brother Khalifa became the president of the UAE, while the eldest of the Bani Fatima brothers, Mohamed, was appointed crown prince.

In 2014, President Khalifa suffered a severe stroke, and Mohamed took over national affairs, leading to a succession battle for the next crown prince.

Tahnoon insisted on maintaining tradition, arguing that as long as Zayed's sons were healthy and mentally sharp, they should continue to hold power, making him the most competitive potential candidate.

Mohamed insisted that his son Khalid should be appointed as crown prince.

In response, Tahnoon even presented evidence showing that Mohamed's strategy contradicted their father's wishes for succession. This inevitably brings to mind many historical stories of uncle-nephew power struggles in Chinese history.

Ultimately, the struggle ended in negotiation and compromise, with the brothers reaching an agreement: Tahnoon would give up his claim to the crown prince title in exchange for significant control over the nation's economic assets.

In 2023, Tahnoon was appointed chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the country's largest sovereign wealth fund. A few weeks later, Khalid was appointed crown prince.

At this point, Tahnoon became the "CFO" of the UAE, overseeing the two largest sovereign wealth funds, ADIA and ADQ, the largest bank in the UAE, First Abu Dhabi Bank, along with his vast business empire covering real estate, agriculture, healthcare, energy, industry, shipping, catering, and retail.

According to the latest data from Global SWF, Tahnoon controls over $2 trillion in assets.

However, U.S. media reports indicate that in recent years, individuals who have interacted with Abu Dhabi consistently report that Tahnoon's power has significantly expanded, surpassing the financial realm. He is responsible for diplomatic contacts with Iran, Qatar, and Israel and has established connections with individuals in Trump's circle.

MGX participated in a $6 billion financing round for Elon Musk's xAI, with its asset management company Lunate adding a $1.5 billion investment to Affinity, managed by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Tahnoon's power is not only reflected in wealth control but also extends into intelligence and technology. As national security advisor, he oversees the UAE's intelligence agency and uses it to establish G42, deeply involved in artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

After resolving the power dispute, Tahnoon encountered new challenges on the AI front: geopolitical conflicts.

AI and Geopolitics

Before 2023, G42 maintained close cooperation with Chinese tech giant Huawei, with many Chinese executives involved in the company's operations, which displeased U.S. hawks.

"You have to pick a side," former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo bluntly stated during a meeting in Washington in 2023, making it clear: investments are welcome, but you cannot straddle both China and the U.S.

In August 2023, the United States implemented significant restrictions on the export of NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) to the Middle East, prohibiting any company using Huawei technology from receiving these exported products.

Faced with a choice, Tahnoon had to make a decision.

In early 2024, G42 announced it would sever ties with China and remove all Chinese-made technology, even dismantling Huawei routers in the G42 office, and G42 also sold its shares in ByteDance.

In April 2024, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion investment in G42, acquiring a minority stake, and Microsoft President Brad Smith joined the G42 board.

In the summer of 2024, Tahnoon embarked on a diplomatic tour in the U.S., meeting with tech giants such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), and Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon), and even held discussions at the White House with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and President Biden.

On the other hand, in March 2024, Tahnoon led the establishment of the investment institution MGX, collaborating with BlackRock, Microsoft, and others to invest in the AI industry, specifically in American AI.

MGX's CEO Ahmed Yahia stated that the company plans to allocate 70% to 80% of its funds to the U.S. MGX made significant investments in OpenAI, Musk's xAI, and Amazon-backed Anthropic, and was also one of the few supporters of SoftBank's "Interstellar Gateway" project.

These efforts quickly paid off. The U.S. has authorized NVIDIA to sell GPUs to G42, some of which are already in use in Abu Dhabi, including a large number of NVIDIA H100s.

In this wave of global AI competition, Tahnoon's strategic pivot is not just a business decision but a significant gamble concerning national fortunes.

As we examine this technological struggle between China and the U.S., it is evident that whether they are tech giants, national leaders, or royal family members controlling trillions in assets, they are merely participants in the historical tide, each placing their bets on an uncertain future.

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