OpenAI in discussions with UAE's MGX, Saudi's PIF for its $40bn funding
OpenAI, which recently said it aims to raise US$40 billion in financing at a valuation of US$300 billion, has reportedly been in talks with the UAE's MGX, an existing shareholder; Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
The Information reported this on Wednesday, citing people close to the fundraise, but Reuters could not get any confirmation or comments from OpenAI, PIF, Reliance Industries, MGX, or SoftBank.
The US$40 billion fundraise is being led by SoftBank.
Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with India's IT Minister and discussed the country's plan of creating a low-cost AI ecosystem. Altman also had plans to visit the UAE to discuss raising funds with MGX, Reuters learned from two unnamed sources.
On March 31, OpenAI said in a post: Today we're announcing new funding – $40 billion at a $300 billion post-money valuation, which enables us to push the frontiers of AI research even further, scale our compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools for the 500 million people who use ChatGPT every week.
'We're excited to be working in partnership with SoftBank Group – few companies understand how to scale transformative technology like they do. Their support will help us continue building AI systems that drive scientific discovery, enable personalised education, enhance human creativity, and pave the way toward AGI that benefits all of humanity.'
Last week, an unconfirmed CNBC report said that OpenAI has crossed a milestone mark of US$10 billion in annualised recurring revenue, up from US$5.5 billion in December last year.
The Information report added that the Microsoft-backed startup has also discussed raising at least US$100 million each from Coatue and Founders Fund as part of the fundraise.
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