Activate Capital to open Doha office with backing from QIA’s $3B venture programme

Activate Capital will open its first international office in Doha after securing a commitment from Qatar Investment Authority, bringing an investor in energy, industrial and space technologies into the sovereign wealth fund’s $3 billion Fund of Funds programme.

The San Francisco-based firm will staff the office with senior investment professionals, including a Qatar-focused partner, as it seeks investments across the Global South.

Founded in 2017 by Raj Atluru, Anup Jacob and David Lincoln, Activate has raised three flagship funds and says it manages more than $1 billion. Its second fund closed at $500 million in October 2022, while its third reached a final close this year, confirmed in July by investor VP Capital. The firm has historically concentrated on the US and Europe, backing companies from Series B through the run-up to a public listing.

That focus has broadened amidst growing demand for electricity and computing infrastructure. Its portfolio includes AI infrastructure provider Crusoe, satellite developer Muon Space and grid services platform Voltus, alongside companies working on industrial automation and supply chains.

In June, Activate said its third fund had made nine investments, with AI data centres, energy capacity and the emerging space economy among its principal areas of interest.

Its portfolio already overlaps with Gulf sovereign investors. Activate says it has backed Crusoe since 2024, and QIA joined the company’s $3.9 billion Series F last month, co-led by Mubadala Capital, Atreides Management and Valor Equity Partners, which valued the company at $30.9 billion.

Anup Jacob told Semafor that discussions with QIA began about a year ago and that Activate’s investors wanted the office to deploy the firm’s existing pool of capital rather than establish a separate regional vehicle. He also pointed to cheaper energy and access to computing capacity as reasons to bring portfolio companies to the region.

Activate is the programme’s 13th manager, joining a group that has expanded as Qatar commits more sovereign capital to attracting investment firms and their portfolio companies. QIA launched the Fund of Funds in February 2024 with an initial $1 billion allocation and added $2 billion at Web Summit Qatar this February, when Greycroft, Ion Pacific, Liberty City Ventures, Shorooq and Speedinvest joined.

The expansion also widened the programme’s remit to later-stage investments beyond its original Series A and B focus, making room for managers such as Activate.

Alongside the funding, QIA and Qatar Development Bank announced access to computing capacity from state-backed AI company Qai for Qatar-based startups and portfolio companies of participating funds, adding an operating incentive to the financial backing offered to incoming managers.