Monday 29 / September / 2025
Muscat: As part of its ongoing commitment to investing in future technologies and artificial intelligence, Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has announced, through its Future Generations Fund, an investment in Salience Labs, a company based in Oxford, United Kingdom. This investment is also supported through OIA’s existing partnerships with Oxford Science Enterprises and Cambridge Innovation Capital, in which it holds active investments. This step aligns with OIA’s strategy to expand across the AI value chain and explore advanced solutions to support the efficiency of digital infrastructure globally.
Salience Labs is developing a new generation of optical chips that transmit data using light instead of converting it into electrical signals. This breakthrough enables significantly faster data transfer, improves the performance of data centers, accelerates the training of AI models, and reduces operational costs. The company also provides software systems for control and monitoring, including tools for tracking power consumption and thermal levels; making it a powerful solution for modern data center requirements.
Through this investment, OIA aims to strengthen its global partnerships in the AI sector, while positioning itself as a key player in international AI value chains. This step is also aligned with OIA’s broader ambition to localise emerging technologies and support the development of advanced digital and AI infrastructure projects.
This move builds on OIA’s growing and diversified investment portfolio in artificial intelligence, which includes strategic investments in companies such as xAI, focused on developing foundational AI models, Sense, which specialises in vertical AI applications including smart energy management solutions for homes, Gradiant/Turing, active in data infrastructure and leveraging AI to enhance water desalination and data management processes, and Crusoe Energy, which develops data centres powered by clean energy sources like solar and wind, with a focus on training AI models.
OIA is shaping a future where artificial intelligence serves as a cornerstone of Oman’s economic transformation. Its investments are strategically positioned to build a comprehensive ecosystem across software, infrastructure, and advanced technologies. Notably, it underscores Oman’s aspiration to become a leading regional hub for artificial intelligence while supporting national goals in innovation and economic diversification.
Oman Investment Authority (OIA) is the investment arm of the Sultanate of Oman. It is mandated with managing, investing, and growing the Sultanate’s assets locally and internationally. Its investment funds geographically diverse, with investments on every continent, and cover a wide range of sectors, including food and fisheries, energy, logistics, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), public services, financial and investment services, tourism, mining, manufacturing, and aviation. It plays a key role in driving sustainable economic development and achieving Oman’s vision of becoming a more attractive investment destination.
