Massive Saudi Investment Shifts Global Sovereign Fund Landscape in 2025

SadaNews - The Saudi Public Investment Fund has topped the list of sovereign funds worldwide in terms of expenditure in 2025, amounting to $36.2 billion, according to a report by research consultancy "Global SWF."

This represents an 81% increase compared to the fund's expenditure in 2024, when it focused on the domestic market as part of the Kingdom's ambitions to develop new industries and enhance economic diversification.

Behind this leap lies a pivotal deal: the fund's acquisition of gaming giant "Electronic Arts" (EA) for $28.8 billion, according to the company's report, granting it a significant majority stake. This deal, which shook the tech entertainment industry, was not just an investment but a clear statement of Saudi Arabia’s entry into the global digital entertainment industry.

Last week, shareholders of the video game company, based in Redwood City, California, approved the acquisition deal that will give the Saudi sovereign fund a 93% stake in the company upon completion, including the 10% it currently owns.

The fund had concentrated in 2024 on the local market to fuel diversification projects, but 2025 saw a strategic shift; the fund’s capital sought more global opportunities, returning to redraw the map of the digital economy in line with the Kingdom's ambitions to transform its fund into a $3 trillion giant by 2030.

With assets surpassing $1.15 trillion, the fund has achieved its goal for this year. Yasser Al-Rumayyan, the fund's governor, had predicted last September that the fund's assets would exceed a trillion dollars before the end of the current year.

The Gulf Invests Aggressively

Despite Saudi Arabia's lead, it was not alone in the investment race. Its neighbor, the UAE, pushed vigorously through the "Mubadala Investment Fund," which ranked second among sovereign funds globally in terms of spending, having invested $32.7 billion in 2025, representing an increase of nearly 12% from the previous year, in 40 deals across ten different countries, according to the report.

The report added that the seven Gulf sovereign funds (also including the "Abu Dhabi Investment Authority" (ADIA), "ADQ Holdings" in Abu Dhabi, "Dubai Investment Authority," "Kuwait Investment Authority," and "Qatar Investment Authority") invested $126 billion, contributing collectively to 43% of the total global sovereign spending this year.

Artificial Intelligence.. The Next Competitive Landscape

Gulf sovereign wealth funds have expanded their spending on artificial intelligence, with investments reaching about $13.4 billion in this sector during 2025.

The UAE led this round, with its three major funds ("Mubadala," "ADIA," and "ADQ Holdings") collectively taking the lion's share of this spending at $7.1 billion, while Saudi sovereign expenditure amounted to $300 million, according to the report.

The report indicated that this aligns with a broader trend that also includes spending on digital transformation initiatives, which also encompasses investment in digital infrastructure and data centers.