OpenAI in Talks for $40 Billion Fundraise, Eyeing Global Investors Including Saudi Arabia's PIF and India's Reliance Industries

OpenAI in talks to raise fresh funds from Saudi Arabia's PIF, India's Reliance Industries: The Information

OpenAI has held discussions with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Reliance Industries, and UAE's MGX to participate in its ongoing $40 billion fundraising, US tech publication The Information reported. The talks are part of the second instalment of the fundraise, where OpenAI is looking to raise about $30 billion by December, potentially valuing the company at around $260 billion before the new investment, the report said. Japan's SoftBank, which is leading the round, has already been actively buying shares from employees. Between March and May, it purchased around $240 million worth of shares from a small group of current and former staffers, the report said. Last year, ahead of its mega round, SoftBank had also acquired about $2 billion worth of new and existing shares. SoftBank is expected to contribute at least three-fourths of the $30 billion instalment, leaving about $7.5 billion to be raised from new investors, according to the report. The Japanese conglomerate may take loans or sell some of its public market holdings, including its shares in Arm Holdings, to fund the investment, the report added. OpenAI has also discussed raising at least $100 million each from Coatue Management and Founders Fund as part of the ongoing fundraise, the report said, while talks with PIF and other prospective investors are still at an early stage. A direct investment by Saudi Arabia's PIF, which manages over $900 billion in assets, would mark a shift from its earlier exposure to US tech firms through venture funds like Andreessen Horowitz and Iconiq Capital, The Information noted. CEO Sam Altman had earlier met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Riyadh, which coincided with the kingdom's latest AI investment push, the report said. Separately in India, OpenAI is exploring a product and sales partnership with Reliance, whose portfolio includes Jio, India's largest wireless carrier, and the world's biggest oil refinery. OpenAI wants Reliance businesses to distribute or sell its AI offerings in India, which is now its second-largest user market, Altman said in February, the report said. The scale of its capital needs is also rising sharply as ChatGPT's weekly active users exceed 500 million, up from 300 million in December. Between 2025 and 2027, OpenAI expects to spend about $35 billion on servers to support existing products, and another $55 billion on developing new models, the report added. Completion of the round hinges on a pending corporate restructuring of its for-profit entity. While an earlier plan to convert it into a public benefit corporation was dropped, a revised restructuring still needs to be finalised by year-end. Failure to do so could see SoftBank cut its commitment and scale back the round to $20 billion, the report said. Separately, OpenAI, SoftBank, MGX and Oracle have partnered on Stargate, a $500 billion initiative to build global AI data centres, according to The Information.

OpenAI has discussed raising money from Saudi Arabia, Indian investors, The Information reports

ChatGPT developer OpenAI is seeking funds. It is in discussions with Saudi Arabia's PIF, India's Reliance Industries, and UAE's MGX. The company aims to secure investments to support model development. SoftBank is leading the financing efforts. OpenAI plans to raise funds for its ambitious infrastructure project, Stargate. Earlier, Sam Altman met with India's IT Minister to discuss AI ecosystem.ChatGPT maker OpenAI has talked to Saudi's PIF, India's Reliance Industries and existing shareholder United Arab Emirates' MGX about its $40 billion financing, The Information reported on Wednesday. The investors could put in at least hundreds of millions of dollars each, the report said, citing people familiar with the fundraise. OpenAI is looking to raise more funds to fuel its model development and ambitious infrastructure plan Stargate, with the financing led by SoftBank. Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with India's IT Minister and discussed India's plan of creating a low-cost AI ecosystem, after which Altman also had plans to visit UAE to discuss raising funds with Abu Dhabi investment group MGX, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The Microsoft-backed startup has also discussed raising at least $100 million each from Coatue and Founders Fund as part of the fundraise, The Information report said, adding that the company also expects to raise an additional $17 billion in 2027. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. OpenAI, PIF, Reliance Industries, MGX and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

OpenAI Looks To Raise $40 Billion From Global Investors Including Saudi Arabia's PIF, India's Reliance Industries To Accelerate AI Models And Stargate: Report - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBF)

OpenAI is reportedly seeking to raise $40 billion in funding, with major investments from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), India's Reliance Industries and the existing shareholder UAE's MGX. What Happened: Each investor could contribute at least several hundred million dollars, reported Reuters, via The Information. The Microsoft Corp. MSFT backed startup is seeking additional funding to support its model development and its ambitious infrastructure project, Stargate, with the financing round being led by SoftBank Group SFTBF SFTBY. See Also: Mark Zuckerberg Warns Of 'Serious Disadvantage' As China's Data-Center Blitz Could Let DeepSeek Leapfrog US AI Labs OpenAI is also in talks with other major investors, including Coatue and Founders Fund, aiming to raise at least $100 million from each of these firms. The company is reportedly planning an additional $17 billion in funding for 2027, the report added. Why It's Important: Earlier this week, it was reported that OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate has nearly doubled to $10 billion, up from $5.5 billion at the end of 2024, excluding Microsoft licensing and one-time deals. The growth is driven by strong adoption of ChatGPT, which had 500 million weekly active users as of March. Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings suggest a positive outlook for Microsoft over the short, medium and long term. Additional detailed metrics are available here. Read Next: Cathie Wood Dumps Palantir As Stock Touches Peak Prices, Bails On Soaring Flying-Taxi Maker Archer Aviation Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Svet foto / Shutterstock.com MSFTMicrosoft Corp$473.020.08%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum68.51Growth51.71Quality34.53Value13.54Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewSFTBFSoftBank Group Corp$62.2711.2%SFTBYSoftBank Group CorpNot Available-%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

OpenAI Eyes $40 Bn Funding From Reliance, Others: Report

In late March, the AI chatbot company initially announced its $40 Bn funding at a $300 Bn post-money valuation ChatGPT maker OpenAI is reportedly in talks with Reliance Industries, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and existing shareholder United Arab Emirates' MGX for its $40 Bn funding. Citing sources, The Information reported that each investor could put in "at least hundreds of millions of dollars" in the fundraise, as the Microsoft-backed AI frontrunner looks to fuel its model development and infrastructure plan 'Stargate'. Inc42 has reached out to OpenAI for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response. In late March, the AI chatbot company initially announced its $40 Bn funding at a $300 Bn post-money valuation, with ambitions of sharpening its frontiers of AI research, scale its compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools. Prior to that, the AI giant was reportedly looking to strike partnership with Indian conglomerate Reliance on new AI businesses, where it sought to partner with Reliance's telecom arm Jio to distribute or sell its AI offerings, including ChatGPT.