OpenAI is courting Middle East investors for a potential $50B funding round as it scales AI models and data infrastructure across global markets.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has met with investors in the Middle East as the artificial intelligence company explores raising close to $50 billion in new funding, underscoring the region’s growing role in financing large-scale AI development.
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The ChatGPT developer is seeking capital at a valuation of between $750 billion and $830 billion, according to reports. Discussions are said to be at an early stage, and the final size of the round could change depending on investor appetite and market conditions.
Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and state-backed investors have emerged as some of the most active global backers of AI infrastructure and foundation model development, making the region a natural focus for OpenAI’s fundraising efforts.
Abu Dhabi-based technology investment firm MGX has already established itself as a significant OpenAI shareholder. In October, MGX acquired shares in OpenAI through a $6.6 billion secondary transaction that valued the company at around $500 billion. The deal followed a funding round earlier in 2024 that valued OpenAI at approximately $157 billion, with MGX also participating.
MGX was launched in March 2024 by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and AI company G42, with a mandate focused on artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductors, and core enabling technologies.
Earlier this year, OpenAI also held discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, India’s Reliance Industries, and MGX regarding a separate financing round of up to $40 billion. Potential investors were expected to commit at least hundreds of millions of dollars each, according to people familiar with the talks.
The fundraising push coincides with OpenAI’s growing investment in physical AI infrastructure, including data centers designed to support next-generation model training and deployment. The company has selected the United Arab Emirates as the first international location for its Stargate data infrastructure project, which is expected to deliver up to 5 gigawatts of computing capacity.
G42 is developing the UAE-based project in partnership with OpenAI and a consortium that includes Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, and SoftBank. The initiative reflects the UAE’s broader ambition to position itself as a global hub for advanced computing and AI deployment.
The Stargate agreement follows the UAE’s commitment last year to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States over the coming decade, deepening economic ties between the two countries and reinforcing cross-border collaboration in advanced technology.
If completed, OpenAI’s proposed funding round would rank among the largest private capital raises in history, highlighting the scale of investment required to build and operate frontier AI systems amid intensifying global competition.
Why OpenAI Fundraising Push Matters to MENA
OpenAI’s fundraising push underscores the Middle East’s rising role as a strategic capital provider for frontier AI development. Sovereign-backed investors such as Abu Dhabi’s MGX, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and regional family offices are increasingly influencing where AI infrastructure, compute capacity, and talent clusters are built. For MENA startups and investors, this signals deeper access to global AI platforms, co-investment opportunities, and spillover benefits, from local data centers and advanced research partnerships to downstream growth across fintech, healthtech, logistics, and industrial AI.
