UAE's MGX in Talks to Invest in OpenAI as ChatGPT Gains Popularity

UAE's MGX in talks to invest in OpenAI

The UAE state-backed company MGX is in talks to invest in OpenAI as part of a multibillion-dollar fundraising round, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people with knowledge of the matter. OpenAI, which created the text-generating AI chatbot ChatGPT, is trying to raise as much as $6.5 billion in a funding round that would value it at $150 billion, according to various media reports. Venture-capital firm Thrive Capital has committed $1 billion and will lead the round, while Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are also in talks to invest, the report said. MGX hasn't determined the size of the potential investment in OpenAI, the WSJ report said. MGX was set up in January 2024 with Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as board chair to invest in artificial-intelligence projects and is backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign investor Mubadala and the UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42. (Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria) brinda.darasha@lseg.com

Abu Dhabi's MGX in talks to invest in OpenAI: WSJ reports

Image credit: Illustration by Jaque Silva/ Getty Images Abu Dhabi technology investment firm MGX is reportedly in talks with OpenAI as part of a multibillion-dollar fundraising round for the startup behind ChatGPT. Sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that MGX, which the UAE created earlier this year to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) projects, hasn't determined the size of a potential investment in OpenAI. OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5bn from investors at a valuation of $150bn, and the new valuation will cement the ChatGPT creator's position as one of the most valuable startups in the world. Venture-capital firm Thrive Capital has committed $1bn and will lead the round, while Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia are in talks to also invest, according to a Bloomberg report. The potential investment would bring the Gulf state closer to one of the world's leading AI companies and one of the most valuable private startups in the US. Last October, OpenAI teamed up with Abu Dhabi AI behemoth G42 Group as part of an expansion within the UAE and the broader GCC region. The partnership with G42 is aimed at delivering OpenAI's generative AI models across sectors spanning financial services to energy and healthcare. The UAE created MGX in March to invest in AI companies and the infrastructure required to make the technology more widely available. The investment firm counts sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment and G42 as its founding partners. OpenAI's reasoning AI Meanwhile, OpenAI said on Thursday that it was launching its "Strawberry" series of AI models. The AI models are designed to spend more time processing answers to queries and solving challenging problems in math, coding and science - a critical step towards achieving humanlike cognition in machines. Dubbed o1, the AI models are touted as a sign of the progression of technological capabilities over the past few years as companies race to create ever more sophisticated AI systems. OpenAI said in a blog post that the o1 model scored 83 per cent on the qualifying exam for the International Mathematics Olympiad, compared with 13 per cent for its previous model, GPT-4o. The company said the model also improved performance on competitive programming questions and exceeded human PhD-level accuracy on a benchmark of science problems. Founded in 2015, OpenAI has been at the centre of the technology industry's rapid shift toward AI, kicking off an investing frenzy with the 2022 debut of its easy-to-use chatbot, ChatGPT. The company's products, which can generate realistic images and human-sounding text from just a few words of prompting, have captured the attention of both consumers and investors. Read: Saudi Arabia is building its own AI models -- and this is helping Nvidia

United Arab Emirates fund in talks to invest in OpenAI

MGX, which the U.A.E. created earlier this year to invest in artificial intelligence projects, hasn't determined the size of a potential investment in OpenAI, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. If the investment is completed, it would bring the Middle Eastern nation closer to one of the world's leading AI companies and one of the most valuable private startups in the U.S. OpenAI is in talks to raise as much as $6.5 billion in a funding round that would value it at $150 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The investment terms are still being completed, the people said. If the startup ends up valued at $150 billion, that would nearly double its $86 billion valuation last year -- a sign of continued investor enthusiasm for the potential of generative AI and OpenAI's leading role in the space. Venture-capital firm Thrive Capital has committed $1 billion and will lead the round, while Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia are in talks to also invest, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. Bloomberg previously reported on OpenAI's potential new valuation. Separately, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has told investors his company is considering changing its corporate structure to be more attractive to them. OpenAI is currently a nonprofit that has a for-profit subsidiary through which investors can receive a capped share of its profits -- an unusual setup. Any additional profits would go to the nonprofit. Altman has said he intends to remove the profit cap for investors, some of the knowledgeable people said. The company will remain a nonprofit, according to a spokeswoman. OpenAI isn't currently profitable, but it is growing quickly. Altman has told investors that the startup's annualized recurring revenues -- a projection of annual revenue based on recent receipts -- recently hit about $4 billion. Oil rich Middle East nations are increasingly eager to plow their wealth into the booming AI space. For his part, Altman has been courting the U.A.E.'s leaders to help fund the massive costs associated with building AI technology. Separately from the fundraising discussions, he has talked with Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan about an initiative to boost the world's chip-building capacity that could cost trillions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. Sheikh Tahnoun chairs MGX's board and oversees a rapidly growing financial portfolio for the U.A.E. The U.A.E. created MGX in March to invest in artificial-intelligence companies and the infrastructure required for making the technology more widely available. The nation's sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala and state-backed AI company G42 are founding partners in MGX. A fund affiliated with Mubadala previously invested in one of OpenAI's competitors, Anthropic, by acquiring a nearly $500 million stake owned by bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. G42, which received a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft this year, has worked with OpenAI on developing AI services for the United Arab Emirates and the broader region. MGX's board recently "approved several strategic initiatives, focusing on investments in digital infrastructure, advanced technology, and artificial intelligence," Abu Dhabi said in a press release this month.

Report: UAE State-Backed Investment Company MGX Considers Investment in OpenAI | PYMNTS.com

MGX, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-backed technology investment company, is reportedly considering participating in a multibillion funding round for OpenAI. The fund has not determined the size of its potential investment, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday (Sept. 12). The WSJ also reported Thursday that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told investors that the startup's annualized recurring revenues recently reached $4 billion. Separately from the reported funding discussions, Altman has talked with MGX board chair and investor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan about a potential trillion-dollar effort to increase the world's chip-building capacity, according to the report. MGX was launched in March by two founding partners: global investment company Mubadala and artificial intelligence firm G42. It was created to invest in the development and adoption of AI and advanced technologies, both in the UAE and globally, with a focus on AI infrastructure, AI core technologies and AI applications, Mubadala said in a March 11 press release. "Our singular focus is accelerating AI's responsible and inclusive development for the benefit of humanity, guided by Abu Dhabi's global investment strategy for artificial intelligence," the release said. "MGX builds from Abu Dhabi's innovation and investment leadership and an extensive network of global technology partners; in doing so, the company will further advance the UAE's role as a home and ecosystem for top technology talent, investors and entrepreneurs." It was reported in June that the UAE, with roughly $2 trillion in sovereign wealth funds, aims to reduce its dependence on oil by establishing itself as a world center for AI. This goal led to the creation of MGX. G42 secured a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft in April, with the two companies saying the investment builds on their longstanding collaboration in AI and digital transformation initiatives.

OpenAI Talks to UAE For Funding as ChatGPT Passes 11 Million Subscribers

OpenAI has been talking to a UAE state-backed fund about participating in the artificial intelligence developer's capital raise of up to $7 billion, The Information reported Thursday . The fund, MGX, would join existing investors Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Khosla Ventures and others in the new round. OpenAI needs the money, as its losses have been mounting. But the company's revenue engine,