Abu Dhabi’s state-backed health-care investment company, M42, has invested in the UK-based biotech startup Juvenescence, which specializes in developing drugs aimed at extending human lifespans. The investment comes at a valuation exceeding $550 million, although the exact amount invested has not been disclosed.

M42 and Juvenescence will collaborate in a strategic partnership that focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence to create therapeutics for life-threatening diseases, furthering the goal of extending healthy life spans.

Under Al Nowais’s leadership, M42 is working to establish itself as an AI-powered health-care leader to address rising health-care costs. This move follows M42’s significant acquisition of Diaverum, a major independent dialysis clinic operator in Europe, for $2.5 billion in 2023. Additionally, M42 has announced plans to construct an advanced cancer treatment center in Abu Dhabi, highlighting its commitment to enhancing health-care infrastructure in the emirate.

The investment in Juvenescence is part of Abu Dhabi’s broader strategy to diversify its economy, particularly in the health-care sector. M42 also manages data from the Emirati Genome Programme, which aims to analyze health records of the local population to help prevent and treat chronic diseases. Other investors in the region have shown interest in longevity medicine, with Mubadala pledging support for the Swiss biotech firm Rejuveron Life Sciences, which is also focused on aging-related drugs.

M42 was formed last year when Mubadala Investment Co. merged its health-care assets with those of G42, an AI firm controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a royal of the United Arab Emirates. Among the establishments under M42’s umbrella are the Abu Dhabi branch of Cleveland Clinic, Amana Healthcare, Biogenix Labs, and Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi.