OpenAI boss targets the Gulf for a $50 billion funding round
Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, has reportedly held meetings with investors in the Middle East as part of efforts to raise close to $50 billion in a new funding round.
According to a Bloomberg report, Altman met with a range of investors, including state-backed funds based in Abu Dhabi. The developer of ChatGPT is said to be seeking fresh capital at a valuation of $750 billion to $830 billion, the report noted.
According to Bloomberg, the discussions remain at early stages, and the eventual size of the fundraising could change drastically from here.
Last October, Abu Dhabi-based technology investor MGX acquired shares in OpenAI through a $6.6 billion secondary transaction that valued the US company at $500 billion. That deal followed a separate funding round in October 2024, which valued OpenAI at roughly $157 billion, with MGX also participating.
MGX was initially launched in March 2024 by Mubadala and artificial intelligence firm G42, and focuses on investments in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, and core technologies.
In June, OpenAI also met with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), India’s Reliance Industries, and MGX to discuss a separate $40 billion financing effort. According to the report, the investors “could put in at least hundreds of millions of dollars each”.
It’s noteworthy that OpenAI has selected the United Arab Emirates as the first international location for its Stargate data infrastructure project, which is expected to deliver up to 5 gigawatts of computing capacity. The project will be developed by G42 in collaboration with OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, and SoftBank, and was announced in May 2025.
