OpenAI meets Middle East investors for $50bn fundraising

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has reportedly met with investors in the Middle East to raise almost $50 billion in a new fundraising round.

Altman met investors, including some of the state-backed funds in Abu Dhabi, Bloomberg reported.

The ChatGPT developer is seeking new funding at a valuation of $750 to $830 billion, the report said. 

The talks are at an early stage and the final amount to be raised could vary, Bloomberg said.

In October, Abu Dhabi technology investor MGX purchased shares in OpenAI in a $6.6 billion secondary sale that valued the US company at $500 billion. The deal followed an October 2024 round that valued OpenAI at about $157 billion, with MGX also participating in that financing. 

MGX, launched in March 2024 by Mubadala and artificial intelligence company G42, focuses on AI infrastructure, semiconductors and core technologies.

In June, ChatGPT maker met with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), India’s Reliance Industries, and MGX about its $40 billion financing. The investors “could put in at least hundreds of millions of dollars each”, the report said.

OpenAI has chosen the UAE as the first international site for its Stargate data infrastructure project, expected to provide up to 5 gigawatts of computing power. It will be developed by G42 in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank.The deal follows the UAE’s commitment last year to invest $1.4 trillion in the US.

• MGX buys OpenAI shares in secondary sale
• Humain secures $1bn to expand AI infrastructure 
• Mubadala sets focus on robotics and AI