Dr. Andrew Jackson isn’t just another hire. He is the new General Partner and Chief AI Officer at B Capital. The multi-stage investment firm manages more than $8 billion in assets. Jackson is based in Doha.
This move matters. A Chief AI Officer role at a VC is still rare. It sends a signal. B Capital wants AI embedded in its strategy. Not just in what they buy. But in how they buy it.
Jackson comes from Abu Dhabi. He was the Chief AI Officer at G42. He oversaw governance for Stargate UAE. That is part of a 5 Gigawatt infrastructure cluster. It will be the largest of its kind outside the USA.
Why B Capital hired a G42 executive
B Capital wants to lead on AI. Jackson leads the global strategy. He works across investment and portfolio management. He helps with sourcing and diligence. He supports founders.
His appointment bolsters B Capital’s credentials in the Middle East.
The firm opened a Doha office last year. It is located in The Pearl, Doha. Plans are in motion to partner with Qatar Investment Authority.
Jackson’s background fits. He spent fifteen years building Abu Dhabi’s AI ecosystem. He joined G42’s predecessor in 2015.
What Jackson did at G42 and Inception42
Before this, he ran Inception. Now called Inception42. It is an AI lab. It built the most extensive family of Arabic-first open source models in MENA. One model is Jais. Launched in 2023. Built with MBZUAI and Cerebras.
Then he moved to Core42. Then to Group Chief AI Officer at G42 in May 2019.
At G42 he handled big things. He co-founded the Responsible AI Future Foundation. Microsoft backed it. It focuses on governance. He advocated at the UN General Assembly.
He also managed Stargate. The 5 Gigawatt project. Announced during President Trump’s visit in May 2018. It covers 10 square miles. Phase one goes live this year. OpenAI is involved.
Career path before the Middle East
Jackson wasn’t always in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. He started elsewhere.
He worked at Palantir Technologies in MENA. He built data analytics at Etihad Airways. He developed trading systems in Dublin. For Susquehanna International Group.
His education is heavy. PhD in Machine Learning from Trinity College Dublin. Postgraduate work at Oxford Saïd Business School. UC Berkeley Haas. MIT.
The future of B Capital’s AI strategy
Raj Ganguly co-founded B Capital. He is co-CEO. He says Jackson brings technical weight. It helps identify opportunities. It strengthens portfolio support.
B Capital opened the Doha office in 2019 as part of global expansion. The timing aligns with regional growth.
Jackson started in May 2020.
Who else is moving to AI leadership roles? Which firms are hiring ex-G42 execs? The trend is clear. AI infrastructure needs governance. It needs strategy. It needs people who have built the models.
Jackson has done that. He built the models. He governed them. Now he invests in them.
The question is not if AI will change finance. It already has. The question is who controls the narrative.
For now, that’s Andrew Jackson in Doha. 📍
