Abu Dhabi based investment firm Lunate has escalated its global ambitions after deploying roughly US$13.5 billion and signalling plans to raise even larger funds for 2026 launches. Founded in 2023 and backed by the emirate’s investment ecosystem, Lunate raised about US$17 billion in 2024 for its flagship funds and has invested around 80 per cent of that amount, according to individuals familiar with its operations. The firm now aims to raise significantly more for its next fund cycle, underscoring its transformation from ambitious newcomer to prolific deal-maker.
Lunate manages about US$110 billion in assets, according to its website. It was launched as a partner-led independent alternative investment manager and is based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The firm’s mandate spans private equity, venture capital, credit, real assets and public markets. It also participates in thematic ETFs and co-investment vehicles. The pace at which it has scaled, raised capital and executed deals points to an accelerated entry into global asset-management prominence.
Key to its momentum are marquee partnerships. In August, Lunate committed US$2 billion in a strategic partnership with macro hedge fund Brevan Howard. The deal includes creation of an Abu Dhabi-domiciled investment platform leveraging Brevan Howard’s macro and digital-assets strategies. Earlier this year the firm acquired a 40 per cent stake in ADNOC Oil Pipelines, a network of crude-oil pipelines leased by the national oil company, returning the asset to domestic control after private-equity firms earlier held it. That transaction and subsequent global deals reflect Lunate’s dual domestic anchoring and international outreach.
Emerging trends in Lunate’s strategy include thematic exposure to artificial intelligence and infrastructure, global private-markets access for Middle Eastern investors, and partnership-oriented investment platforms. In November 2025, the firm launched the “AI Data Power” ETF, its 20th listed product, which targets companies delivering infrastructure and power-grid systems underpinning the AI economy. Through partnerships such as one with HPS Investment Partners announced in October, Lunate is committing at least US$1 billion to a new private-capital platform focused on large-cap companies in North America and Europe, signalling a widening investment spectrum.
Lunate’s rise raises questions over its role in Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become a global asset-management hub. It benefits from the emirate’s sovereign-wealth network and regulatory environment in ADGM, but industry participants note its links to legacy vehicles and whether it will be entirely independent. Some commentators see the firm as a quasi-state champion rather than a fully autonomous asset manager, which may affect how global investors assess its operations and governance.
The firm’s deal-execution track record is aggressive by alternative-investment standards: for example, in 2024 Lunate invested across numerous sectors and geographies, with according to press reports up to 25 deals made in that year alone. That pace underscores how Abu Dhabi is betting on scale and diversification in global capital markets, moving beyond conventional sovereign-wealth allocations into active direct investments and fund platforms.
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