Saudis revealed as backer of George Osborne’s tech fund

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has been disclosed as a backer of an investment company co-founded by George Osborne.

The Kingdom’s Sanabil Investments vehicle owns a stake in 9Yards Capital, which was founded in 2018 by the former chancellor and his brother, Theo Osborne.

The arrangement was made public for the first time last week alongside information about Saudi support for a raft of other investments in private companies and venture funds.

Mr Osborne helped launch Los Angeles-based 9Yards five years ago, according to regulatory filings.

The role is one of a series of jobs Mr Osborne has had since leaving No11. He spent three years as editor of the Evening Standard and currently serves as chairman of the British Museum. He is also a partner at the investment bank Robey Warshaw.

The size of Sanabil’s investment in 9Yards could not be determined. The fund said this week it typically invests around $2bn (£1.6bn) each year in start-ups, venture firms and private equity.

9Yards, which invests in tech companies, has around $711m in assets under management according to its latest US regulatory filings. Its holdings have included crypto exchange Coinbase, stock trading company Robinhood, meal kit company Gousto and defence company Anduril.

Sanabil, part of the Saudi state’s $600bn Public Investment Fund, also revealed holdings in several leading buyout funds including KKR, Apollo and Blackstone.

In addition it declared an investment in several tech businesses, including scooter company Bird.

Sovereign wealth funds and state-backed investors often act as a key source of funds for venture capital. Among the firms backed by the Saudi state are early Facebook investor Andreessen Horowitz, New York-based Insight Partners and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, according to Sanabil.

The Saudi state has been keen to talk up its high-tech investments as the country attempts to become less reliant on oil revenues under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The state has also been trying to attract companies to work on megaprojects, such as developing a new desert metropolis called Neom.

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However, some of its deals, such as the takeover of Newcastle United FC, have come under scrutiny amid questions over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

In 2019, the former chancellor was forced to defend the Evening Standard after a Saudi businessman acquired a minority stake in its parent company.

At the time, Mr Osborne told CNN: “I wouldn’t edit this paper if I felt there were unacceptable restrictions on what I can report.”

Mr Osborne also said the newspaper had been “extremely critical of the Saudi regime” over issues such as the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

In a response to a reader’s letter in the wake of the killing, Mr Osborne, then editor, wrote: “The international demand for answers over the fate of Jamal Khashoggi suggests many still understand the value of a free press.

“Democracies have always had to engage with authoritarian states – that will not change – but perhaps we can learn in our own societies to value the role of a questioning media a little more.

“If we denigrate those we disagree with as ‘enemies of the people’ or purveyors of ‘fake news’ then we are doing the job of authoritarian regimes for them.”

On its website, Sanabil said it invests in “great ideas, great minds, great companies”. Mr Osborne and 9Yards did not respond to a request for comment.