OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with leading investors in the Middle East to arrange a new investment round of at least $50 billion, reports Bloomberg, citing sources.
According to the agency, the entrepreneur held talks with individuals from some of the largest sovereign funds in Abu Dhabi.
The ChatGPT developer aims to raise $50 billion or more, with a valuation of $750-830 billion. Discussions are at an early stage, and the amount may change.
Additionally, OpenAI discussed with Amazon the possibility of securing at least $10 billion.
Previously, MGX, a technology investment company from Abu Dhabi, invested in the firm. Altman’s startup also partnered with G42 to create a massive data center in the United Arab Emirates.
OpenAI’s Financial Troubles
OpenAI reported revenues exceeding $20 billion in 2025—a tenfold increase from 2023. However, the rapid growth in cash flow does not help the company remain profitable.
In November, experts analyzed leaked financial information from the startup and concluded that it might still be spending more on inference than it earns.
In January, The Information released a report referencing OpenAI’s internal financial projections. The document states that the company will lose approximately $14-17 billion in 2026. By the end of 2028, the net outflow will reach $44 billion.
Nevertheless, a profit of $14 billion is planned for 2029.
The report also claims that the ChatGPT developer intends to spend $200 billion by the end of the decade, with 60-80% of the funds allocated to training and deploying AI models.
In December, Deutsche Bank analysts presented even more pessimistic figures. They estimate that Altman’s company’s cumulative negative cash flow will reach $143 billion by 2029, excluding obligations for building data centers worth $1.4 trillion.
“No startup in the world has operated with losses of this magnitude,” experts noted.
Additionally, there is a lawsuit from Elon Musk for $134 billion.
Time to Exit?
Renowned investor George Noble stated that he has observed company collapses for several decades, and OpenAI exhibits all the signs of an impending downfall.
OPENAI IS FALLING APART IN REAL TIME
I’ve watched companies implode for decades.
This one has all the warning signs.
OpenAI declared “Code Red” in December.
Altman sent an internal memo telling employees to drop everything because Google’s Gemini 3 is eating their lunch.… pic.twitter.com/D9iJwOOmMe
— George Noble (@gnoble79) January 20, 2026
Among the signals he cited:
- declared “Code Red” in December because Google’s Gemini 3 is “eating their lunch.” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff publicly switched from ChatGPT to Gemini after two hours of use;
- a decline in chatbot traffic in November—the second monthly drop in 2025, while Gemini recorded 650 million users per month;
- financial losses—OpenAI spends $15 million a day on Sora alone, $5 billion a year on “creating copyright-infringing memes”;
- lack of innovation—reports showed that in 2025 the company failed to create AI models surpassing previous ones;
- users called GPT-5 “terrible”;
- talent drain;
- Musk’s lawsuit.
Noble recommends “looking for an exit” from the AI sector.
“Sell in the midst of the hype before the music stops,” he stated.
In October, OpenAI allowed current and former employees to sell shares worth $6.6 billion. The deal valued the startup at $500 billion—a record among private firms.
In the same month, it was revealed that the company plans to conduct an IPO with a valuation of $1 trillion.