Brookfield and Qatar’s Qai set up $20bn AI joint venture

• Plans for AI infrastructure in Qatar
• ‘Select’ international markets
• Aims to attract investment and talent

Qatar’s new state-owned artificial intelligence company Qai and Canada-based Brookfield are partnering to establish a $20 billion joint venture focused on AI infrastructure in Qatar and international markets. 

As part of the deal, Brookfield and Qai, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, will contribute capital and operating expertise to develop AI infrastructure in Qatar.

The partnership will benefit from support from the Qatari government, which will invest in skill development and build the supply chain needed to support the backbone of AI infrastructure in the Gulf country, Brookfield said in a statement.

Brookfield and Qai will also explore opportunities to co-develop and construct AI infrastructure in “select” international markets.

The Canadian asset manager intends to invest in the joint venture through its Brookfield Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund. 

The partnership with Qai will form a cornerstone of Brookfield’s global AI infrastructure programme, which aims to mobilise up to $100 billion.

• Qatar joins other Gulf nations to advance AI
• KIA joins Brookfield’s $10bn AI initiative
• The region must innovate to move beyond ‘AI wrappers’

Abdulla Hamad Al Misnad, chairman of Qai, said the collaboration with Brookfield will not only attract investment and top-tier talent but strengthen Qatar’s position as a trusted centre for advanced digital technologies.

Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield, said this was the company’s first AI infrastructure investment in the Middle East.

To diversify its economy and build expertise in fields such as AI, quantum computing and renewable energy, Qatar has been investing in global tech companies, including Elon Musk’s xAI.