OpenAI in Talks With UAE Funds for $30 Billion Funding Round

OpenAI is in discussions with several investment funds from the United Arab Emirates as the ChatGPT maker prepares another enormous fundraising round. The UAE investors, including Abu Dhabi-based MGX, are considering forming a syndicate that could invest as much as $10 billion collectively. BlackRock is also reportedly discussing participation in the round, although negotiations remain ongoing and the final terms could change.

The fundraising would target at least $30 billion in new capital at a pre-money valuation of approximately $1.4 trillion. That would represent a substantial increase from OpenAI’s previous fundraising, when the company raised $122 billion in March at a valuation of about $852 billion including the new investment. The latest valuation demonstrates how dramatically investor expectations for OpenAI have increased as demand for its AI models and computing infrastructure continues to expand.

MGX has become an increasingly important investor in the global artificial intelligence industry and has already participated in previous funding rounds involving OpenAI and Anthropic. The Abu Dhabi investment firm reportedly raised nearly $50 billion earlier this year to accelerate investments in AI infrastructure and technology. Its potential involvement in the latest OpenAI round would further strengthen the financial relationship between the UAE and one of the world’s leading AI companies.

OpenAI is also discussing the fundraising with existing investors and other major financial institutions. The University of California’s endowment fund has reportedly held talks about participating, while existing backers Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz have also considered putting additional money into the company. However, OpenAI has reportedly presented its $1.4 trillion valuation as a fixed price even though it has not yet selected a lead investor, which differs from the traditional venture-capital process where investors negotiate valuation and terms.

The potential investment comes as OpenAI faces enormous costs associated with developing frontier AI models and building the computing infrastructure required to operate them at global scale. The company has also pushed back its potential initial public offering until at least 2027, reportedly allowing it to concentrate on AI safety and continued technological development. If completed, the new funding round would give OpenAI another major source of capital as it competes with companies such as Anthropic and Google while expanding its partnerships and AI infrastructure worldwide.