OpenAI’s effort to build more control over the hardware behind artificial intelligence may be drawing interest from Abu Dhabi. The state-backed investment fund MGX is in early-stage discussions about potentially financing OpenAI’s chip plans, according to two sources familiar with the talks, as reported by the Financial Times.
The talks are still at an initial stage, and the possible size or structure of any MGX funding has not been disclosed. But the discussions point to a larger shift: AI infrastructure is becoming a strategic target for investors, governments, chipmakers, and energy providers at the same time.
What MGX could bring to OpenAI’s chip effort
MGX is backed by Abu Dhabi and has been described in the source as a sovereign wealth fund. Its possible role in OpenAI’s plans matters because chip manufacturing is not just a software problem. It requires large-scale capital, factory capacity, energy planning, and long-term industrial coordination.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is leading a push for new AI chip manufacturing infrastructure. The goal is to gain greater control over key components for AI applications and reduce reliance on Nvidia.
Altman has estimated that building a global AI infrastructure could cost as much as $7 trillion in the coming years. That figure explains why OpenAI is looking beyond traditional technology financing and toward sovereign wealth funds with deep resources.
The proposal described in the source is broad. Altman is seeking a partnership that would bring together OpenAI, investors, chip manufacturers, and energy providers to create a global network of chip factories.
Why Abu Dhabi is interested in AI infrastructure
The discussions also fit Abu Dhabi’s own ambitions. The UAE wants to become a global hub for artificial intelligence, and the emirate is using several advantages to compete for influence in the sector.
According to the source, Abu Dhabi is leveraging resource wealth, competitive energy prices, and strong government support to attract investors and top talent. Those assets are directly relevant to AI infrastructure, where capital and energy availability are central issues.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a brother of the UAE President, has said the newly established MGX fund aims to create a "national champion" for AI investments in Abu Dhabi. He also oversees the AI company G42.
G42 has already formed partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Cerebras. That existing network gives Abu Dhabi a visible place in the AI infrastructure conversation even before any MGX funding for OpenAI’s chip plans is confirmed.
The wider network around OpenAI’s chip ambitions
OpenAI is not only speaking with MGX. The company is also in discussions with Singapore’s Temasek, according to the Financial Times. That detail underlines the scale of the financing challenge: OpenAI appears to be looking for partners with the ability to support very large infrastructure plans.
Altman has also held discussions with manufacturing giants including Samsung, SK Group, and TSMC about potential collaboration. Those talks sit on the manufacturing side of the same equation, while sovereign wealth funds could help address the capital side.
The emerging structure is not a simple supplier relationship. Based on the source, OpenAI’s plan involves a larger ecosystem:
- OpenAI, which wants more control over AI components.
- Investors, including potential sovereign wealth fund partners.
- Chip manufacturers, which could contribute fabrication and industrial expertise.
- Energy providers, which would be needed for a global AI infrastructure buildout.
This helps explain why the talks are being framed around infrastructure rather than a single product. Advanced AI systems depend on chips, factories, power, and financing working together.
How G42 and Cerebras fit into the picture
Abu Dhabi’s AI strategy is already connected to high-performance computing through G42 and Cerebras. Cerebras recently unveiled its next-generation AI chip, the "CS-3," designed to train models ten times larger than GPT-4.
G42 owns the first supercomputer equipped with the CS-3 chip. That matters because it shows Abu Dhabi is not only discussing AI investment at a policy level. It is also linked to hardware deployments that support large-scale model training.
G42’s partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Cerebras further show how Abu Dhabi is positioning itself across multiple layers of the AI market. These relationships include model developers, cloud and software companies, and chip-focused firms.
What remains unknown
The most important details are still missing. The source does not disclose how much MGX might invest, what form the financing could take, or whether the early-stage talks will result in an agreement.
It is also not clear how OpenAI would divide responsibilities among investors, manufacturers, and energy providers in the proposed global chip factory network. Those questions matter because chip manufacturing involves long timelines, technical complexity, and major capital commitments.
Still, the direction is clear from the facts available. OpenAI wants more independence in AI chips. Abu Dhabi wants a larger role in the global AI race. MGX may become one way those ambitions meet.
For now, the talks are best understood as an early signal rather than a finished deal. If they advance, they could connect one of the world’s most visible AI companies with an Abu Dhabi-backed fund created to build a national AI investment champion.