OpenAI holds talks to raise money from PIF

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), India’s Reliance Industries and existing shareholder MGX of the UAE 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 issue.

OpenAI wants 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.

• UAE investment in data centres may be overly optimistic
• OpenAI CEO seeks fresh funding in the UAE
• You can’t replace ChatGPT for a few million dollars

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.