Artificial intelligence and space technology have become two of the most powerful investment themes of the decade. At the center of these trends sit two private-market giants: SpaceX, the world's leading commercial space company, and Anthropic, one of the fastest-growing AI firms globally. Together, they represent hundreds of billions of dollars in private-market value and have attracted investment from some of the world's largest institutional investors.
As interest in these private-market giants grows across the GCC, so does another question: would these companies qualify for Shariah-compliant investment portfolios if they were publicly listed? The answer matters because Shariah-compliant assets represent a significant share of the region's investment landscape, influencing everything from stock selection to ETF construction.
Determining compliance involves more than assessing whether a company operates in a permissible industry. Shariah screening frameworks also examine debt levels, interest-based income, cash holdings, and other financial metrics. This analysis applies the AAOIFI Standard 21 framework, the benchmark used by most GCC institutional investors, to both companies using the latest available data.
What does AAOIFI require for a stock to be Shariah-compliant?
Under AAOIFI Standard 21, the benchmark used by most GCC institutional investors, a stock must clear two hurdles: a business activity screen (excluding weapons, riba-based finance, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, and pork), and a financial ratio screen requiring total debt below 30% of market capitalisation and prohibited income below 5% of total revenue.
Financial screening
Does SpaceX pass the business activity screen?
SpaceX's IPO filing indicates that approximately 20% of its 2025 revenue was derived from U.S. government contracts, including work with the Department of Defense, the Space Force, and the National Reconnaissance Office. A further $6.45 billion in Space Force contracts was awarded just days before the IPO roadshow opened. Under AAOIFI's business activity screen, revenue derived from weapons systems and military intelligence infrastructure is prohibited. With this exposure at approximately 20% of revenue, far exceeding the 5% tolerance threshold, SpaceX fails the screen on revenue alone.
Is Anthropic's AI business compatible with Shariah principles?
Anthropic’s core business, developing and licensing AI systems, is permissible under Islamic finance principles. The company has no exposure to weapons, no alcohol or gambling revenue, and no conventional banking operations. Anthropic's annualized revenue run-rate reportedly reached approximately $47 billion in May 2026, driven by growing enterprise adoption of Claude, increased API usage, and strong demand for its Claude Code software development tools. The company's rapid revenue growth has been accompanied by substantial fundraising, including a $65 billion Series H round completed in May 2026 at a reported $965 billion post-money valuation.
The complication is the confidential filing. Anthropic submitted its S-1 confidentially on 1 June 2026. Until the company publishes its public prospectus, Shariah screeners cannot verify the debt-to-market-cap ratio or calculate the share of interest income. Historically, high-growth pre-profit AI companies carry significant venture debt and generate meaningful interest income on their cash reserves, both of which can tip a company into non-compliance. The verdict is genuinely indeterminate until public disclosure.
How do the two companies measure up against AAOIFI requirements?
What alternatives exist for investors seeking Shariah-compliant AI exposure?
GCC investors seeking technology and AI exposure without the compliance concerns of SpaceX or pre-IPO Anthropic have a growing toolkit. The halal ETF market has exceeded $8.5 billion in global AUM as of early 2026, with several funds providing meaningful indirect exposure to AI infrastructure through compliant large-cap holdings. Notably, SPUS and HLAL have delivered annualised returns of 16.91% and 15.38% respectively since inception, outpacing the S&P 500’s approximate 13.7% average annual return over the same period.
Key Shariah-Compliant ETFs with AI / Technology Exposure
* Launched in November 2025.
Bottom line
Based on currently available disclosures, SpaceX appears unlikely to qualify under standard AAOIFI screening. Approximately 20% of revenue is linked to government and defense-related contracts, a level that may exceed permissible thresholds under many Shariah screening frameworks. However, a definitive determination would ultimately depend on a formal review by a qualified Shariah board using complete financial disclosures.
Anthropic presents a more nuanced case. Its core business activities appear compatible with Islamic finance principles, but the absence of public financial disclosures makes a formal compliance assessment impossible at this stage. Investors interested in the company should revisit the analysis once its public S-1 filing becomes available and the relevant debt, cash, and non-permissible income metrics can be evaluated. GCC investors with an appetite for AI exposure should monitor the filing closely when it becomes public, and run it through an AAOIFI-based screener such as Zoya, Islamicly, or Musaffa before entering a position.
In the interim, the halal ETFs above offer meaningful AI and technology exposure through compliant holdings at expense ratios between 0.40% and 0.55%, and with five-year annualised returns of SPUS at 16.91% and HLAL at 15.38% that have outpaced the S&P 500 benchmark.
