DUBAI — Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm Presight bought a 51% stake in AIQ, a joint technology venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and G42, a major Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud company.

The new ownership structure will see ADNOC holding 49% of the company and giving it a valuation of $1.4 billion, according to a joint company press release.

ADNOC will in turn get a 4% stake in Presight, as it aims to integrate AI into more of its operations and services. AIQ, for its part, will continue as a standalone company within Presight’s portfolio, the release said. AIQ uses AI and machine learning to improve processes in the oil and gas industry.

Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy, AIQ CEO Chris Cooper discussed how his firm has benefitted from ADNOC and how it plans to broaden its applications in the energy industry and globally.

“We’ve had the benefit of the huge volumes of data that ADNOC provide. We’ve also had the insights of the people that come from ADNOC. That [is] combined with our data scientists and software engineers, and also then combined with the infrastructure that’s required to run those models that come from Group 42,” Cooper said.

What the acquisition does, he added, is “leverage the breadth and the reach that Presight has as a global data-driven analytics company to take those solutions that have been built here in the UAE and … take them to a global forum, and really drive, focus on sustainability, focus on safety, and improving operations of all of the energy industry companies that we can now work with.”

Under AIQ’s previous structure, it was owned 60% by ADNOC and 40% by G42. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the minister of industry and advanced technology and ADNOC’s group CEO, will take over as AIQ’s chairman.

Abu Dhabi is pushing ahead with work and investment in AI. Earlier in April, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42, helping spur its expansion plans and develop the UAE’s position as a technology hub.  

Universal Music Group, the record label for top music artists including Taylor Swift and Drake, struck a new licensing agreement with TikTok, putting an end to a spat between the two companies.

In a statement Thursday, UMG said the licensing deal would lead to the return of its artists’ music to TikTok.

Earlier this year, TikTok pulled songs from artists signed to UMG after the two sides failed to agree on a new deal over content licensing, sparking a public spat.

Music by artists including Swift and Drake became unavailable on TikTok, which is owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance. Swift had her music restored on the platform on April 12.

UMG accused TikTok of bullying and intimidation in its contract negotiations and alleged that TikTok proposed paying its artists and songwriters “at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay.” 

At the heart of the spat was the contention that TikTok allowed its platform to undermine artists’ intellectual property with unauthorized AI-generated songs. UMG claimed the social media platform was “flooded with AI-generated recordings.”

UMG and TikTok’s new deal aims to improve remuneration for songwriters and artists, provide promotional opportunities for their recordings, and introduce “industry-leading protections” when it comes to generative AI.

The fresh agreement, “focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community,” said Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG.

“We look forward to collaborating with the team at TikTok to further the interests of our artists and songwriters and drive innovation in fan engagement while advancing social music monetization.”

Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, said the platform is “committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG’s amazing artists and songwriters.”

TikTok and UMG said they would work to ensure AI development in the music industry protects artists and that they’re sufficiently paid for their material.

TikTok will also work with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from its platform, as well implement tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution.

Correction: The headline and text of this story have been amended to say that Taylor Swift’s music was restored on TikTok on April 12.

Shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc jumped 20% Thursday after its vehicle deliveries more than doubled in April.

Hong Kong-listed shares of the company jumped as much as 23% to 44.20 Hong Kong dollars, touching their highest level in over six weeks. Nio shares also helped boost the broader Hang Seng index, which jumped 2% by midday trading.

Nio said it delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, a 134.6% year-on-year increase.

“The deliveries consisted of 8,817 premium smart electric SUVs, and 6,803 premium smart electric sedans,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nio has delivered 45,673 vehicles so far this year, 21.2% higher than the same period a year earlier.

The Chinese EV maker has also been expanding its battery swap partnerships as it seeks to get an edge on the infrastructure side of the EV ecosystem. Efforts like these are aimed at relieving consumers’ anxiety about driving range. 

Other Chinese EV makers including Li Auto, Xpeng, and BYD also reported April deliveries on Wednesday, while Li Auto was the only company to have reported lower deliveries than the previous month.

Li Auto delivered 25,787 vehicles in April, down 11% from March. Hong Kong-listed shares of the company were still 3% higher.

Xpeng said it delivered 9,393 EVs in April, up 4% from the prior month. BYD’s sales volume for EVs was 313,245 in April, up 3.6% from March’s 302,459.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Xpeng jumped 7.5%, while those of BYD added 5%%.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi recently joined the fray, and launched an electric car in early April. The company priced the SU7 at about $4,000 less than Tesla’s Model 3. The company also claimed the new car would have a longer driving range.

Just last week, CEO Lei Jun said its new EV is selling better than expected, and the company hopes to break even sooner than anticipated despite selling it cheaper than Tesla’s Model 3.

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this story.