❯ OpenAI is in talks for a new $30 billion round, with UAE funds discussing up to $10 billion in total

$30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuationAccording to Bloomberg, as relayed by The Next Web, OpenAI is in talks with several investment funds from the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi’s MGX, to anchor a $30 billion funding round. The funds have discussed putting in as much as $10 billion altogether. The pre-money valuation is about $1.4 trillion.

OpenAI sets the price itselfThe approach is unusual. Normally investors submit terms and a lead negotiates the valuation with the company. This time OpenAI is presenting a fixed price and has chosen no lead. BlackRock is in talks to take part, and the University of California’s endowment and existing investors Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also in discussions. The talks are not settled and details could change. OpenAI and BlackRock declined to comment, and MGX did not respond.

Up more than 60% in seven monthsOpenAI’s previous round was in March, when it raised $122 billion at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. MGX has raised about $50 billion this year, holds stakes in OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, and runs a $30 billion infrastructure vehicle with BlackRock, Microsoft and Nvidia.

The weight of Gulf moneyFew buyers can absorb a $30 billion raise. MGX invests in several competing labs at once, betting on the industry and not on one company. For OpenAI, setting its own price with no lead suggests it judges demand from buyers to be strong enough.

▮ SIGNALWhen a company can raise $30 billion at a stated price with no lead investor, what is scarce in capital markets is no longer money but assets large enough to hold it.