Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with some of the world’s most prominent technology executives in Seattle this weekend as part of his three-week long official visit to the United States.
The powerful millennial has prioritized technology as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 social and economic reform blueprint, and has used the newly-empowered Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia to team up with Softbank for technology investment, in addition to direct investments made into Uber Technologies, Inc., Careem, and other tech companies.
In Seattle, the Crown Prince met individually with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and current CEO Satya Nadella, and also with Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Bill Gates.
The Crown Prince had a “friendly and productive discussion” with Gates on a range of topics, including opportunities for future programs and philanthropy related to global health and social development,” the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia said in a statement.
Crown Prince Mohammed’s jam-packed visits to U.S. cities have followed broad themes. In Washington, the Prince’s meetings were primarily political and defense-related. In New York, the Crown Prince met with financial and business leaders, as well as with the U.N. and religious leaders of other faiths. Now, after his tech-focused trip to Seattle, the Crown Prince heads to Los Angeles where he is expected to meet with leading entertainment figures like Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Tim Cook of Apple and Disney’s Bob Iger, according to reports.
