Norway wealth fund’s use of AI triggers hiring freeze, CEO says

[OSLO] Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, will not increase headcount in the near future because of its use of technology, including artificial intelligence, according to its chief executive officer.

“We do not foresee the number of employees increasing any further,” Nicolai Tangen told lawmakers in Oslo on Tuesday (May 13). The US$1.8 trillion fund, which in recent years has grown its staff numbers, will now “focus on better efficiency through more use of technology,” he said.

At the end of 2024, it employed 676 people in offices in Oslo, London, New York and Singapore. The fund invests in more than 8,500 listed companies globally.

The fund monitors news articles about its investments in 16 different languages and structures this information to get an overview of the companies’ accountability, Tangen said. While this monitoring previously took days, it “now only takes ten minutes,” with the use of AI, he added.

The 58-year-old CEO is an outspoken proponent of the use of AI, and he frequently quotes internal polls that show a self-reported 15 per cent increase in efficiency among the fund’s employees, according to the 2024 annual report. BLOOMBERG