Qatar Investment Authority

The QIA was founded in 2005 by the then-emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to manage the oil and natural gas surpluses of the government of Qatar. As a result of its stated strategy to minimize risk from Qatar's reliance on energy prices, the fund predominantly invests in international markets (United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and within Qatar outside the energy sector. Prior to establishment of the QIA in 2005, Qatar's Ministry of Finance had a small in-house team to invest revenue from budget surpluses. The Qatar National Vision 2030 foresees the shift from natural gas based revenue to QIA-type investments between now and then. QIA does not publish its holdings to the market.

In June 2013, after the new emir's arrival to power, and a general reshuffle of Qatar's main organizations, Ahmad Al Sayed was appointed as QIA's chairman and chief executive officer, replacing Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani in the post while also remaining managing director and CEO of QIA's main subsidiary, Qatar Holding. Sayed held the post for 16 months. In January 2015, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, chairman of Qatari telecommunications company Ooredoo, was appointed as CEO and served until 2018. From July 2022 to November 2024, Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud has held the position of CEO of the company. He was succeeded by Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi. In March 2023, Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani was appointed chairman and replaced his predecessor, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who was named as the country's prime minister in addition to his long-standing role as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The fund is a founding member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

As of 2021, the Qatar Investment Authority had more than half of its assets invested in private equity and listed shares. According to Bloomberg, QIA has increasingly targeted start-ups in growth markets, such as Asia and the US. It has invested in indoor farming and firms that make plant-based meat alternatives.

Technology, media and telecom

Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of QIA, holds a 13% in the French media and publishing group Lagardère.

On 3 December 2010, QIA, along with Colony Capital and Tutor-Saliba Corporation, was part of an investment group known as Filmyard Holdings, which purchased Miramax from Disney. In December 2017, QIA and hedge fund Elliott Investment jointly acquired the US-based networking software company Gigamon for $1.6 billion. In September 2018, QIA jointly led a $400 million funding round for the US-based real estate technology company Compass alongside Softbank Vision Fund.

In 2019, QIA led an investment of $150 million in Indian education start-up BYJU'S. In 2022, QIA partnered with BYJU'S to launch a new research and development centre in Doha as well as an edtech business. In October of that year, QIA led an additional $250 million funding round for BYJU'S.

Together with other investors, QIA bought a 10% stake in Vivendi's Universal Music Group in December 2019. In March 2021, QIA became a minority investor in Coveo, the cloud-based search, recommendations, and personalization company. In December 2022, QIA led an $196.5 million funding round for Snyk. In January 2023, QIA invested $150 million in The North Road Company. In May 2023, London (United Kingdom) based and Sachin Dev Duggal-led Builder.ai received $250 million in series D funding, led by the QIA. In the same month, QIA co-invested $105 million in the Turkish AI platform Insider alongside Istanbul-based Esas Private Equity. In June 2023, QIA invested $4.05 billion in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics, securing a 5% stake in the company. In December 2023, QIA acquired a 4.26% stake in the Chinese software company Kingdee.

Controversies

Sunday Telegraph's campaign

In October 2014 the British newspaper Sunday Telegraph launched a campaign, called "Stop the Funding of Terror", to "press for action to end the flow of funds to extremist groups from individuals in states such as Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia". The campaign put special stress on the Qatari government and emir Hamad Al Thani, and on Qatari investments in the UK.

Barclays

In 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis Barclays raised about £11.8 billion, one of the investors among others was QIA. Barclays reportedly received €7.5 billion ($8.2 billion) cash injection from QIA's subsidiary but did not inform its shareholders. Barclays was charged with failing to act with integrity and breaching disclosure rules for UK listed companies. Barclays then made secret advisory deals with companies linked to QIA, agreeing to pay about £322 million in fees. These undisclosed deals were part of the incentive for Qatar to invest. In 2011 both the Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigated Barclays' €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) secret transaction with a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) from Qatar whose identity remains protected by the financial giant and FCA. A In that case, Barclays failed to conduct "due skill, care, and diligence" at the base of Britain's anti-money laundering rules. As a result, the UK financial watchdog meted out a record €92 million ($104 million) penalty against the financial giant. In August 2012, the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) started a criminal investigation regarding if Barclays had properly informed investors about these payments. This criminal investigation led to charges against the bank and some top executives, including former CEO John Varley, for conspiracy and giving unlawful financial help. By 2020, all the people involved were cleared, and the charges against the bank were dropped. But at the same time, there were also civil lawsuits against the bank, most notable was the on from Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital, claiming Barclays lied about differences in the deal’s terms. In early 2021, a court said Barclays had committed “serious deceit,” but the claimant still lost the case.

In October 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it will fine Barclays £50 million for breaking listing rules by not disclosing key information. Barclays appealed, and the fine was later reduced to £40 million. The bank didn't admit to the accusations but dropped its appeal to end the 16 year dispute and move forward.

Volkswagen

Bloomberg estimated that in September 2015, the QIA lost $5.9 billion on paper from its stakes in Volkswagen Group and Glencore after Volkswagen admitted to using illegal software to cheat on emissions tests in the US. By holding 17% of Volkswagen's ordinary stock and 13% of preferred shares, Qatar's sovereign-wealth fund is the third largest investor shareholder in the firm.

In July 2026, the QIA exercised its clout as Volkswagen's third-largest shareholder to scuttle its proposed defense arrangement with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. According to media reports, the QIA—which controls roughly 17 percent of Volkswagen's voting rights and holds two seats on the company's supervisory board—blocked the initiative, which would have entailed manufacturing components for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system at Volkswagen's Osnabrück plant.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB)

Qatar Investment Authority's affiliation with Qatar Islamic Bank (16.67%) raises concerns about the extent to which the sovereign wealth fund may be or have been involved in some of the bank's activities. In a September 2015 piece, the Consortium Against Terrorist Finance (CATF) discussed the Sharia-compliant financial giant's correspondents and posited that several QIB's correspondents "have controversial histories of affiliation with or support of terrorist or extremist activities". According to US Department of States country reports on terrorism 2019, the Qatari government drafted new AML/CFT legislation, which was finalized and passed into law on 11 September 2019. This legislation included the country forming National Anti-Terrorism Committee. The NATC is tasked with formulating Qatar's Counter Terrorism policy, ensuring inter agency coordination, fulfilling Qatar's obligations to counter terrorism under international conventions, and participating in multilateral conferences on terrorism. According to this reporting, US officials met regularly with the chairman of the NATC to discuss implementation of the CT MOU and overall CT cooperation.