The Artificial Intelligence Imperative: Transformation Within 12 to 24 Months
The most consequential theme throughout the Future Investment Initiative 2025 centered on artificial intelligence and its disruptive potential across sectors. Christian Aman, Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm, warned that AI will reshape every major industry within 12 to 24 months, with transformative effects already underway. He pointed to partnerships with Saudi Arabia’s Humain—the AI company owned by the Public Investment Fund—as evidence of enterprise AI adoption accelerating across the Gulf.​
Steve Schwarzman, founder and CEO of Blackstone, emphasized the infrastructure implications of the AI boom. “Power will prove the constraint for AI’s promise,” Schwarzman observed, forecasting a dramatic surge in data center construction and energy demand globally. He noted that developed economies are already experiencing rapid infrastructure growth to accommodate AI-powered facilities, a trend he expects to accelerate through 2026 and beyond. The infrastructure boom presents what Schwarzman characterized as a generational investment opportunity, particularly for private equity and private credit markets.​
Lip Bhutan of Intel outlined the semiconductor manufacturer’s strategic refocus on engineering excellence and innovation leadership. Citing recent shifts in U.S. government policy supporting domestic semiconductor manufacturing, Bhutan stressed the importance of government investment as a stabilizing force for American technological competitiveness amid global competition from China and other rivals.
Al-Rumayyan, in his opening remarks, underscored the societal stakes of technological advancement. Citing data from the FII Institute’s latest global research—the fourth edition of the FII PRIORITY Compass report, which surveyed over 60,000 people across 32 countries representing two-thirds of humanity—he noted that three out of four individuals expressed anxiety that artificial intelligence could exacerbate educational inequality. “We must prevent this from occurring,” Al-Rumayyan said, articulating a moral imperative for ensuring AI’s benefits distribute broadly across populations.​
Private Markets, Capital Imbalances, and Frontier Opportunities
Scott Nuttall, co-CEO of KKR, presented private equity’s cyclical nature and current opportunities. He characterized recent difficulties in fundraising as structural rather than merely cyclical, citing asset valuation dynamics and deployment timing as key factors. Nuttall identified infrastructure, private credit, and real estate as the most attractive markets going forward, particularly in regions experiencing supply-demand imbalances. Government collaboration with major investment firms to address balance sheet challenges creates what he termed “unique opportunities” for alpha generation.​
Patrice Motsepe, founder of African Rainbow Minerals, articulated a persistent critique: only approximately one percent of global private equity flows to Africa despite the continent’s strong returns and competitive market dynamics. Motsepe called for redress, positioning Africa as the next frontier for international capital allocation—a sentiment echoing broader discussions at the conference about emerging market opportunities beyond mature developed economies.
The Digital Asset Revolution and Financial Systems Transformation – Christian Aman, CEO. Qualcomm
Fink, echoing themes raised by multiple panelists, emphasized an underappreciated structural shift: the rapid digitization of financial assets and the transformation of currency systems themselves. Central banks’ primary concern, according to Fink, centers on the pace of digital currency deployment and asset tokenization. “Technology is rapidly changing the financial sector’s ‘plumbing,’ with many countries underprepared for this shift,” Fink stated.
He highlighted that this transformation extends beyond artificial intelligence to encompass comprehensive technological reshaping across global finance. Digital payment systems, stablecoins, smart contracts, and blockchain infrastructure are being embedded into the system at accelerating speed, requiring policymakers and financial institutions to adapt faster than historical precedent suggests feasible.