Egypt In-Focus — Suez Canal sees record monthly revenue; Under-35s are half of fintech founders

Ships passing through the Suez Canal (Shutterstock)
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Updated 02 May 2022
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Egypt In-Focus — Suez Canal sees record monthly revenue; Under-35s are half of fintech founders

Egypt’s Suez Canal recorded its highest monthly revenue to date in April, reaping $629 million in ship transit fees, the authority managing the waterway said on Sunday, as traffic rebounded from the impact of the pandemic.

The monthly revenue in April was 13.6 percent higher than a year ago, canal authority chairman Osama Rabie said in a statement.

The total number of ships that passed through the 193 km (120 miles) waterway that links the Red and the Mediterranean seas increased by 6.3 percent from a year ago to 1,929 vessels.

They carried cargoes weighing in total 114.5 million tons, the highest monthly net cumulative payload to transit the waterway, he said.

The number of oil tankers, liquefied natural gas tankers and container carriers increased respectively by 25.8 percent, 12 percent and 9 percent in April versus a year ago, he added.

In addition to the impact of the pandemic, last year’s flows were disrupted after a container ship ran aground in the canal in late March.

50 percent of Fintech founders in Egypt aged between 25 and 35

Meanwhile, the Egypt FinTech landscape report 2021, recently issued by FinTech Egypt suggests that 50 percent of the fintech founders in the nation are aged between 25 and 35. 

The report also suggested that fintech startups in Egypt aspire to expand globally.

Also, 24 percent of participants surveyed in the report have already expanded regionally and internationally, with a significant presence in the MENA region, GCC region and Europe. 

(With inputs from Reuters) 


PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

Updated 18 February 2026
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PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.

As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.

The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.

Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.

The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.

CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.” 

The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.

In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”

He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”

He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.

Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.

The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.

Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.

The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.