OpenAI is in talks with several investment funds from the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi-based MGX, to help anchor a $30 billion funding round, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The UAE funds would invest through a syndicate and have discussed putting in as much as $10 billion altogether. BlackRock is also in discussions to participate alongside that group.
The fundraise is ongoing and the details could change, according to Bloomberg. OpenAI and BlackRock declined to comment to Bloomberg, and MGX did not respond. Existing investors Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, along with the University of California’s endowment, have also discussed taking part. OpenAI has not chosen a lead investor and is instead offering investors a set pre-money valuation of about $1.4 trillion, the report said. In most venture rounds, a lead investor negotiates that price.
Monday’s report puts names on a round first reported last week. AI Tech Daily reported on Sept. 29 that OpenAI was in early talks to raise around $30 billion. Bloomberg reported then that OpenAI was aiming for at least $30 billion at about $1.4 trillion, not including the new money, as bridge financing in place of an initial public offering, and CNBC said no term sheet had been finalized.
MGX and BlackRock-affiliated funds both backed OpenAI’s last raise. MGX co-led the March round alongside SoftBank, Andreessen Horowitz, D. E. Shaw Ventures, TPG and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price, according to OpenAI’s announcement, and BlackRock-affiliated funds were among the other participants. That round closed with $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
A UAE syndicate at the top of its range would cover about a third of the $30 billion target, leaving BlackRock and existing backers to supply the rest of a bridge round with no lead investor setting the price. No commitment from any named investor has been reported as final.