Adani Group steps into AI joint venture with West Asia backer IHC

The Adani Group, led by Gautam Adani, has formed a joint venture with a unit of UAE’s International Holding Co. to explore artificial intelligence and other technologies, signaling deepening ties between the Indian conglomerate and its West-Asia backers.
 

Adani Global Ltd. and IHC’s Sirius International Holding Ltd. will own 49% and 51% respectively in the Sirius Digitech International Ltd., which will be based in Abu Dhabi, according to an exchange filing Thursday. Both partners will have an equal representation on the board of new entity which will also explore Internet of Things and blockchain besides AI, it added.

Adani Global is a wholly owned subsidiary of flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd., which has a track record of incubating new businesses within the ports-to-power conglomerate. The joint venture aims to tap the $175 billion India digitization opportunity across areas including Fintech, Healthtech and Greentech, the filing said.

The collaboration with IHC — it also raised its stake in the flagship to almost 5% in October — shows how the billionaire’s conglomerate is getting renewed support and returning to its aggressive expansion plans after being battered by a short seller attack in January.

Adani Group has been clawing back lost ground in recent months, regaining investor and lender confidence after denying Hindenburg Research’s scathing allegations of corporate fraud. 

IHC is a $239 billion conglomerate led by United Arab Emirates National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sheikh Tahnoon oversees a $1.5 trillion empire that also includes G42 — an Abu Dhabi firm that has been at the forefront of the UAE’s push into AI.