Speaking on LEAP 2024’s Main Stage, HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, outlined the importance of balancing profit-first investment approaches with the transformative potential of VC funds to propel technology-driven innovations that will help solve critical challenges facing humanity.
“Our goal has always been to invest in companies that aim to create some sort of positive and meaningful change in the world,” said HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed of KBW Ventures, which counts many different mission-driven technology companies in its portfolio. “There are companies that are profit-driven, while others prioritise a social aspect as well as being profit-driven; it’s the latter we’re now looking for.”
Citing the vast potential of fusion energy, which he conceded is unlikely to deliver significant returns for years – possibly decades –Prince Khaled explained KBW Ventures is now assessing and selecting investment avenues on both potential commercial return and the prospect for tangible social impact.
“Our focus has become a lot more sector-agnostic in terms of looking at companies that can drive real change in the world by using technology,” Prince Khaled added. “The energy sector is one of the primary industries that will be transformed by tech, and we recently closed an investment in a company focused on fusion technology.
“We have a broader vision of our investments delivering real positive change. Fusion has seen enormous strides in the past few years, and I really believe this will be the start of our company stepping out of what we know and adopting more of a high-risk, long-term plan and vision. To achieve the positives we want to see, you must start investing now – even if your realisation of return is 20-30 years away.”
LEAP 2024, the world’s most attended technology event, continued its trailblazing transformational impact on the global technology ecosystem today, as numerous local and international technology companies recommitted their dedication to Saudi Arabia as the regional hub for technology and innovation.
Related: NEOM and BlueNalu forge strategic partnership to revolutionize sustainable and secure food ecosystem
