How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley

How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley

From Throughline by NPR

March 26, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

The episode explores how Saudi Arabia became a major investor in Silicon Valley and the implications of this relationship.

Elon Musk. Donald Trump. Bill Gates. Sam Altman. Larry Ellison. Alex Karp. Jared Kushner. Mr. Beast. Jeffrey Epstein… Those are just a few of the people who have been friendly with, and often done business with, Saudi Arabia over the last decade. Today on the show: how one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes became one of Silicon Valley’s biggest investors – and what that’s meant for the rest of us. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Topics covered

  • Saudi Arabia
  • Silicon Valley
  • investment
  • technology
  • business relationships

Keywords

  • Elon Musk
  • Donald Trump
  • Bill Gates
  • Sam Altman
  • Larry Ellison
  • Jared Kushner
  • Mr. Beast
  • Jeffrey Epstein

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Saudi Arabia, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley’s

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