Abu Dhabi AI investor MGX was among several investors co-leading a USD 30 bn series G funding round for AI startup Anthropic, making it now a backer of three major AI rivals: OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic. The investment was also co-led by D.E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, and Iconiq.

The investment puts MGX at a massive advantage, with a stake in not one but three of the world’s top AI players, at a time when backing of one or the other is often seen as a matter of “taking sides.” Prior to this round, the Qatar Investment Authority was the only known Middle Eastern backer of Anthropic, after participating in its USD 13 bn fundraise last year, while MGX backed both OpenAI and xAI.

It also puts MGX among the stakeholders of two companies set to pull the trigger on what could be the two largest IPOs of all time. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are in the running for public listings this year, with OpenAI rumored to potentially make the move later this year.

Bns are at stake: Anthropic is already seeing massive growth, with its run-rate revenue growing over 10x annually over the past three years to now hitting USD 14 bn.

Our take

MGX’s investment playbook is very much a mirror of the UAE’s own, showing a neutral, agnostic investor and partner to all. The move to back major AI players comes as the UAE looks to become a global AI hub, with Stargate UAE — a massive data center cluster led by OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, and Abu Dhabi’s G42 — being an anchor of that ambition.

What to watch: While it’s not yet clear, if MGX’s backing of these AI companies involves gaining a seat on their boards, it would give it unprecedented visibility and access into some of the world’s biggest AI players.

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