IT之家 October 6 news: According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that OpenAI is in talks with multiple investment funds from the UAE (with Abu Dhabi-headquartered MGX among them), hoping these funds will serve as cornerstone investors to help the ChatGPT developer complete a 300亿美元 (IT之家 note: approximately 2,014.34 亿元人民币 at current exchange rates) funding round.
One of the sources said the UAE funds will form an investment consortium to participate in this round. Other reports indicate the combined contribution of the several UAE funds could reach as much as 100亿美元 (approximately 671.45 亿元人民币 at current exchange rates).
Sources also said BlackRock Inc. is in talks, planning to participate in the round alongside the consortium. Sources added that the round is still in progress and various details could still change.
According to earlier Bloomberg reports, OpenAI plans to raise at least 300亿美元 (approximately 2,014.34 亿元人民币 at current exchange rates),at a pre-money valuation of about $1.4 trillion(approximately 9.4万亿元人民币 at current exchange rates). The company said its current focus is on AI safety-related work, and has therefore postponed its initial public offering (IPO) plans until at least next year. OpenAI's previous funding round took place in March this year, raising a total of 1,220亿美元 (approximately 8,191.65 亿元人民币 at current exchange rates), at a valuation of 8,520亿美元 (approximately 5.72万亿元人民币 at current exchange rates).
Leading AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC have previously sought funding from deep-pocketed Middle Eastern investors to meet the enormous capital demands of developing and operating cutting-edge AI software.
MGX had previously participated in funding rounds for both OpenAI and Anthropic. According to Bloomberg, the investment firm completed a fundraising of nearly 500亿美元 (approximately 3,357.23 亿元人民币 at current exchange rates) earlier this year, to be used to accelerate its deployment of AI infrastructure and related technologies.
Sources revealed that OpenAI has also communicated with existing investor the University of California endowment fund, inviting it to participate in this round. Existing shareholders Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also in discussions about additional investment.
Sources said that, unlike conventional venture fundraising, although a lead investor has not yet been determined, OpenAI has directly offered investors a fixed pre-money valuation of $1.4 trillion (approximately 9.4 trillion RMB at current exchange rates). Typically, investment firms submit term sheets and then negotiate with the company over who will lead the round.