A new Abu Dhabi investment company is in talks to back OpenAI’s ambitious chip venture, in the latest effort by the United Arab Emirates to become a global powerbroker in the development of artificial intelligence.
State-funded MGX is in early stage discussions over a funding deal with OpenAI, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The US start-up’s chief executive Sam Altman is seeking to launch a semiconductor business to reduce its dependence on cutting-edge chips made by Nvidia.
Estimates from Altman and others of the cost of building out AI infrastructure have varied from hundreds of billions of dollars to as high as $7tn over the coming years.
Such figures price out traditional technology venture capitalists, leading the group to approach nation-states. The Financial Times this month reported that OpenAI was also holding talks with Singapore-backed Temasek over a funding deal.
MGX, an AI-focused fund that launched this week, is chaired by the UAE’s powerful national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The nation is betting its wealth, abundant energy resources and the political backing of the autocratic state’s leadership give it a head start in the race to become a global AI hub.
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