OpenAI is in talks to raise up to USD 30 billion in fresh funding led by UAE investors alongside US investment firm Coatue, according to CNBC as reported by EnterpriseAM. The ChatGPT developer is targeting a pre-money valuation of USD 1.25 trillion, down from an earlier pitch of USD 1.4 trillion. The transaction discussions also include securing additional computing capacity within the UAE.
Sovereign wealth funds deployed $14.2 billion into mainland China and Hong Kong in the first nine months of 2026, up roughly 190% from all of 2025. Gulf sovereign funds contributed nearly 70% of the total, with UAE funds ADIA and Mubadala deploying a combined $3.3 billion.
The UAE has launched a programme to train approximately 80,000 government employees to become artificial intelligence super users capable of building AI agents. The announcement was made at the opening of the Ai Everything Abu Dhabi summit at ADNEC, which gathered over 400 exhibitors and 200 investors managing $100 billion in assets. Abu Dhabi officials reaffirmed their objective to establish the world's first AI-native government by 2027.
Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company has invested $1 billion in Chinese coffee giant Luckin Coffee. Following the investment, Luckin appointed Mubadala executive Philip Yifei Bao to its board of directors effective September 29, 2026. The capital injection comes as Luckin Coffee explores potential expansion into Middle East markets.
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