OpenAI has reached four agreements in Abu Dhabi covering energy, investment and government applications as the artificial intelligence company works to strengthen its presence in the United Arab Emirates and secure regional backing for a planned $20 billion funding round.
CEO Sam Altman met Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, during the visit. The agreements will support the use of OpenAI models and advanced AI systems across several sectors, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, and G42 signed an agreement to deploy OpenAI’s frontier technology. Sovereign investor Mubadala, Inception42 and OpenAI also agreed to use advanced AI capabilities for investment analysis.
Separately, the Abu Dhabi Government announced an initiative with OpenAI to convert government policies and regulations into machine-readable formats. Inception42 and OpenAI signed a five-year agreement aimed at expanding the adoption of frontier AI in government, business and education.
The agreements come as OpenAI and other AI companies seek increasingly large pools of capital in the Middle East to finance their expansion. Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX has backed both OpenAI and Anthropic, including co-leading Anthropic’s $30 billion financing round in February and OpenAI’s $122 billion raise in March. OpenAI is now seeking $20 billion in new funding, with investors from the United Arab Emirates expected to co-lead the round.
Altman said Abu Dhabi and the UAE were establishing a global standard for AI integration across public and private sectors. He added that OpenAI wanted to support the UAE’s ambitions while focusing on safety, accessibility and responsible innovation.
Sources: CNBC Markets.