The UAE has set aside more than $6 billion to be spent on the country’s surge in the global space race. Its investment is paying off as the UAE has become the first Arab nation to reach Mars with its Hope Probe last year. The country has also been able to launch a nanosatellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this year.

Now SpaceX, founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has secured $50 million from Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) and Alpha Abu Dhabi. Each of the firms will invest $25 billion in the US-based company providing launching vehicles for satellites. The deal focused on supporting space tech innovation is still subject to regulatory approvals.

The IHC had first bought a stake in SpaceX in 2020. So far, developing spacecraft and rockets, SpaceX is central to Musk’s ambitions of colonizing Mars. The company is competing with other space tech giants, such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origins and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, to launch flights for Mars.

SpaceX is also creating a constellation of 4000 low orbit satellites to beam internet onto Earth, a service that has been deployed for Ukrainians in times of war. IHC has invested in 30 entities and over 300 subsidiaries in sectors such as healthcare, emerging tech, and real estate. It had also picked up a 45% stake in Alpha Dubai last year.