Public funds ploughing cash into AI will 'own' megatrends shaping economy

Sovereign Wealth Funds to Drive AI and Megatrend Investments Through 2030

Growth and Strategic Shifts in Sovereign Wealth Funds

By Libby George

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Sovereign wealth fund assets are set to surge nearly 50% to $22.4 trillion by 2030 as state-backed investors deepen their involvement in artificial intelligence and infrastructure, according to a PwC report released on Thursday.

From Passive to Principal Investors

The world's largest sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and public pension funds have also shifted from passive to "principal investors" that increasingly shape the real economy, the report found.

Direct Involvement and Operational Roles

"These investors no longer depend solely on external managers – instead, they are originating transactions themselves and taking controlling positions with operational roles," said Eric Janson, PwC's global private equity and principal investors leader. 

Forecasted Asset Growth

The report, which analysed the world's 350 largest public investors, forecast that SWF assets will rise to $22.4 trillion by 2030, from about $15.2 trillion, while public pension assets will increase to $36.3 trillion, from about $27.6 trillion, and central bank assets will climb to about $20.9 trillion, from about $17.3 trillion. 

AI and the Gulf

Concentration of Capital

The growing pool of capital is concentrated in a small group of institutions: the report found that the top 10 hold around 41% of combined SWF and pension assets, while the top 50 hold 77%.

Influence on Global Megatrends

"As we're seeing in other areas of the economy, the pool is growing more concentrated — to the point at which a few dozen large institutions are positioned to set the tone," the report said. "They won't merely participate in the megatrends reshaping the global economy. Increasingly, they'll enable, accelerate, and own them."

Direct Ownership and Infrastructure Creation

Funds are now more likely to own and operate assets directly and to create entirely new infrastructure projects, the report found.

AI Investment Flows

In 2025, the bulk of the roughly $66 billion state investors channelled to AI and digitisation went to the US, while flows to China slipped to around $4 billion.

Gulf State Investment Strategies

Gulf state funds in particular were "tilting hard" toward the US, the report found, pointing to investment pledges from Qatar's QIA and Abu Dhabi's MGX and ADIA. 

Saudi Arabia's Domestic Focus

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, however, was a notable exception, cutting foreign allocations to roughly 20%, from a peak near 30%, as part of a nascent shift to a domestic focus and "portfolio-wide spending discipline."

(Reporting by Libby George; editing by Karin Strohecker and Paul Simao)