Investment firms are competing to fund AI ventures, betting on the technology's potential to transform industries.
According to Dealroom, AI companies globally have raised a record $416.6 billion this year, nearly double the total from 2025. Most of that capital went to Anthropic and OpenAI, both of which count MGX - a private investment fund with a conventional GP and LP structure - as a major investor. MGX secured capital from a diverse set of institutional and private investors across the Middle East, North America, Asia, and Europe. It closed above its initial $45 billion target.
MGX co-led Anthropic's $30 billion funding round in February and joined its $65 billion Series H in May. Additionally, the fund co-led OpenAI's $122 billion round in March and participated in Elon Musk's xAI's $20 billion raise in January, prior to the firm's merger with SpaceX. The fund plans to deploy capital across the entire AI technology stack, covering semiconductors, infrastructure, and AI-enabling platforms.
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In June, MGX announced an expansion of an AI campus in France, collaborating with Bpifrance and Mistral. The partnership aims to establish a European hub for AI development, diversifying the fund's geographic reach beyond the U.S. and the Gulf.
The fund's closure underscores the escalating global race to dominate AI, with sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors pouring capital into frontier technology. MGX, established as a traditional GP-LP fund, has become a key player in this wave, leveraging Abu Dhabi's ambition to become a hub for AI innovation alongside other Gulf initiatives. The $49 billion fund marks a significant milestone, reflecting the scale of capital needed to build AI infrastructure and support the next generation of AI companies.
MGX's massive vehicle joins a wave of sovereign-backed AI investment in the Gulf, with entities like Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and UAE's Mubadala also allocating billions to the sector. The fund's focus on the full AI stack - from semiconductor manufacturing to application platforms - positions it to capture value across the entire ecosystem. Elon Musk's xAI, which merged with SpaceX earlier this year, received $20 billion from MGX in January, showcasing the fund's willingness to back ventures tied to established conglomerates. This concentrated deployment of capital highlights the accelerating pace of AI commercialization and the strategic importance Abu Dhabi places on leading the next technological revolution.
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