Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund invests in SoftBank-backed tech startup

Dubai: Mubadala Investment Co. led a $700 million funding round for a technology startup backed by SoftBank Group Corp., as the Abu Dhabi wealth fund diversifies its portfolio away from oil.

The fund said on Wednesday it invested in Reef Technology Inc., a startup that manages hubs in parking lots used for food delivery and other services such as Covid-19 testing. It was joined by SoftBank Vision Fund, Oaktree, UBS AM and Target Global, Mubadala said on Twitter.

Miami-based Reef was exploring a capital raise to fund its expansion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this month. The firm was valued at $1 billion when SoftBank acquired a stake in 2018.

Mubadala, which manages $232 billion in assets, is among Gulf sovereign funds plowing their oil and natural gas wealth into technology to lessen their reliance on crude and help diversify their economies.

The fund has said over the past few years that it’s looking to boost its investments in technology. It bought a stake of about 5% in Silver Lake in September and announced plans to invest $2 billion in a technology fund run by the private equity firm.

Earlier this year, Mubadala joined regional and global investors that poured billions of dollars into the telecommunications and digital services business controlled by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The fund will also invest 200 million euros ($234 million) in German pharmaceutical company Evotec SE.