---
title: "OpenAI is in talks with UAE funds and BlackRock on a $30 billion round"
url: "https://etf.net/news/openai-is-in-talks-with-uae-funds-and-blackrock-on-a-30-billion-round-2026-10-06"
published_at: "2026-10-06T06:09:11.926Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-06T06:09:11.926Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# OpenAI is in talks with UAE funds and BlackRock on a $30 billion round

UAE funds including MGX have discussed investing as much as $10 billion in a proposed $30 billion OpenAI round, which the company is offering at a set price of about $1.4 trillion before the new money, with BlackRock also in talks, Bloomberg reported on Monday, October 5, 2026.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 6, 2026.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is in talks with funds from the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi's MGX, and with BlackRock on a proposed **$30 billion** round at a set price of about **$1.4 trillion** before the new money, people familiar with the talks said. They said it has not chosen a lead investor.

Investors usually submit terms and negotiate to lead a round. OpenAI is setting the price itself, and investors have not agreed to it. The fundraising is still going, and the details can change, the people said.

The UAE funds would invest as a group, and BlackRock is in talks to join them, the people said. One person said the funds have discussed putting in as much as **$10 billion** together. OpenAI and BlackRock declined to comment, and MGX had not responded.

People familiar with the plans said on September 29 that OpenAI was already seeking at least $30 billion at about that price, as private money in place of a public listing. Monday's report said the listing is pushed to at least 2027, with the company citing a focus on AI safety.

"I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that."

Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, said that in an interview published on September 12. He said a listing would not come in 2026.

In March, OpenAI closed a $122 billion round at a value of $852 billion including that money. MGX co-led. That September 29 report said the round had been expected to be the last private raise before a listing.

The March figure includes the cash from that round. The $1.4 trillion is the price before this new money goes in.

Anthropic raised $65 billion in late May at $965 billion including the new money, a round that put it ahead of OpenAI for the first time. At the price OpenAI is asking, it could move back above that value, Bloomberg reported on September 29.

Anthropic has filed privately to list its shares in the United States, and it is still heading toward the public market. OpenAI is asking investors to take a price it set, and it has put its own listing off until at least 2027.

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/openai-is-in-talks-with-uae-funds-and-blackrock-on-a-30-billion-round-2026-10-06. Please cite the page URL.