Saudi tech outreach causes debate in Silicon Valley
In mid-June, a delegation of Saudi Arabia officials hosted a dinner at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel to court venture capitalists including Marc Andreessen and Michael Moritz.
In addition to discussing tech trends, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman indicated his kingdom aimed to do more Silicon Valley deals like the $3.5 billion investment in Uber Technologies Inc. announced two weeks earlier, according to a person who attended the dinner.
As Saudi Arabia and its oil-rich sovereign-wealth fund prepare to become bigger players in tech deal making, Silicon Valley insiders are weighing the consequences. Technology investors like to tout the social benefits of the companies they support. But the industry often overlooks investors’ own principles and beliefs, focusing more on their investment record and size of their checks.
To some venture capitalists and founders, Uber’s agreement with Saudi Arabia represented its tacit endorsement of that government. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women aren’t allowed to drive, and one of several countries where homosexuality is illegal.
“It would not have been a choice I would have made if I were them,” Wesley Chan, a partner at venture-capital firm Felicis Ventures, said of Uber.
Chan, who is gay, said he wouldn’t accept money from Saudi Arabia or any other investors whose values he didn’t agree with. “We want to make money for folks who are tolerant and agree with our principles of diversity,” he said.
Kristine Beckerle, who studies women’s rights issues in the Middle East for Human Rights Watch, said Western technology companies and investors have a unique opportunity to help shape its social policies.
“For tech companies, you are in this amazing position where you have one of the most powerful people in the kingdom coming to meet with you,” Beckerle said. “Now is the moment where they do have leverage.”
In addition to venture capitalists, the delegation led by the deputy crown prince also visited with tech CEOs including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, Facebook Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella. Andreessen and Moritz declined to comment on the VC dinner.
Source: Market Watch
