Sources say OpenAI is negotiating for US$30 billion in financing, and UAE funds and BlackRock are in talks消息称 OpenAI 洽谈 300 亿美元融资，阿联酋基金、贝莱德入局磋商

IT House reported on October 6 that according to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that OpenAI is negotiating with a number of investment funds from the United Arab Emirates (including Abu Dhabi-based MGX), hoping that these funds will serve as cornerstone investors to help the ChatGPT developer complete a round of financing of US$30 billion (IT House note: the current exchange rate is approximately 201.434 billion yuan). One of the people familiar with the matter said that these UAE funds will form an investment consortium to participate in this round of financing. Other sources indicate that the combined investment scale of several UAE funds may reach up to US$10 billion (approximately 67.145 billion yuan at the current exchange rate). People familiar with the matter also said that BlackRock Inc. is also negotiating and plans to participate in this round of financing along with the consortium. People familiar with the matter also said that this round of financing is still in progress and details may still change. According to previous reports by Bloomberg, OpenAI plans to raise at least US$30 billion (current exchange rate is approximately 201.434 billion yuan), with a pre-money valuation of approximately US$1.4 trillion (current exchange rate is approximately 9.4 trillion yuan). The company said it is currently focusing on work related to artificial intelligence security, so it has postponed its initial public offering (IPO) plan until at least next year. OpenAI’s last round of financing occurred in March this year, with a total financing amount of US$122 billion (approximately 819.165 billion yuan at the current exchange rate) and a valuation of US$852 billion (approximately 5.72 trillion yuan at the current exchange rate). Leading AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC have previously sought funds from well-funded Middle Eastern investors to meet the huge capital needs brought about by the development and operation of cutting-edge AI software. MGX has previously participated in funding rounds for OpenAI and Anthropic. According to Bloomberg news, this investment institution completed a fundraising of nearly US$50 billion (approximately 335.723 billion yuan at the current exchange rate) earlier this year to accelerate the deployment of AI infrastructure and related technologies. According to people familiar with the matter, OpenAI has also started communication with its existing investor, the University of California Endowment Fund, and invited the other party to participate in this round of financing. Existing shareholders Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also in discussions for additional investment. People familiar with the matter said that unlike conventional venture financing, OpenAI has directly given investors a pre-investment fixed valuation of US$1.4 trillion (approximately 9.4 trillion yuan at the current exchange rate), although a leading investor has not yet been finalized. Under normal circumstances, each investment institution will submit investment terms and then negotiate with the company who will be the lead investor in this round.