UAE-based firm to set up $500m fund, invest in new projects in digital sector

UAE-based firm Hodler Investments on Tuesday announced a plan to launch a $500 million Digital Energy Infrastructure (DEI) Fund, targeted at Middle East, Africa and North American markets.

The closed-ended fund by the Dubai Silicon Oasis-based company will invest in utility-like income-generating assets and distributed energy infrastructure for compute applications that adopt innovative methods for carbon capture, storage, and utilisation.

Mohamed El Masri, managing director of Hodler Investments, told Khaleej Times that they have already secured soft commitments – non-binding and subject to final regulatory approval of the Fund – between cash and in-kind contributions of up to $100 million.

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The company said the DEI fund is expected to range between $250 million and $500 million, including in-kind commitments with a value not exceeding the total capital commitments.

The Fund’s investment mandate covers the entire digital energy value chain such as clean energy, power generation (IPPs), data mining (ASICs, GPUs, etc) for blockchain, decentralised physical infrastructure (DePIN), Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud, and other compute cluster applications with a focus on achieving zero-emissions across the majority of the Fund’s portfolio.

It will also invest in startup operating platforms and software and will seek to acquire early-to-growth stage modern software technology companies that are active in digital infrastructure and software applications that support the development and growth of fintech, web3, blockchain and AI.

“We are confident in our initiative to unlock natural wealth for all stakeholders including communities. The DEI Fund is capitalising on an existing pipeline of deals and projects that have been vetted by our qualified team of professionals,” said Ahmed Ebrahim, managing director, Hodler Investments.

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