OpenAI this morning announced the launch of Stargate UAE, the first international deployment of its infrastructure platform, in an arrangement that could include up to $20 billion in investments from Abu Dhabi-based G42.

• This comes less than a day after it agreed to acquire io,, a hardware startup founded by ex-Apple chief design officer Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion.

The big picture: The AI market is far too vast for any one company to corner, but OpenAI is trying to play all the angles.

Zoom in: StarGate UAE is expected to be a 1-GW cluster in Abu Dhabi, going live sometime next year and promising to make UAE "the first country in the world to deploy ChatGPT nationwide."

• A source familiar with the situation says that G42 will fund the entire project and also is committing a dollar-for-dollar commitment to OpenAI's U.S. Stargate infrastructure. G42's expected outlay in each country is pegged at between $8 billion and $10 billion.
• It's also possible that G42 could join the recent $40 billion investment in OpenAI by Stargate partner SoftBank, of which $10 billion is being syndicated. The second tranche, worth $30 billion, is expected to close by year-end.
• Other Stargate partners include Oracle, Cisco, and Nvidia.

Deal details: OpenAI last year acquired a 23% stake in Ive's io, and now will pay an additional $5 billion in stock.

• It's essentially an acqui-hire of a 55-person team, and likely the most expensive one ever.

Zoom out: The Stargate agreement with UAE is an example of commercial diplomacy, and the Trump administration's efforts to maintain America's lead in AI.

• There are obvious concerns that AI tech and chips exported to the Middle East could get partially rerouted to China, but the greater fear appears to be that U.S. nonparticipation would create a vacuum for China to fill.
• An industry official involved in the deal tells Axios' Mike Allen that over 30 countries already have reached out to OpenAI for meetings about Stargate, and that they understand there is a "time imperative."
• As for the io acquisition, OpenAI's goal is to make AI accessible for everyday people — with Ive expected to design devices that are as sleek and intuitive as are iPhones.

The bottom line: It's OpenAI's world and we're just living in it.

AT&T (NYSE: T) has agreed to acquire Lumen's (NYSE: LUMN) consumer fiber business for $5.75 billion in cash.

Why it's the BFD: This is the third major U.S. telecom consolidation development in less than a week, following the Charter-Cox tie-up and the FCC's approval of Verizon's $20 billion deal for Frontier Communications.

Zoom in: AT&T said that the acquired business will be part of a new subsidiary in which it plans to eventually sell a minority stake.

Synergy: I'll be interviewing Lumen CEO Kate Johnson at the Axios AI+ Summit in New York on June 4.

The bottom line: For AT&T, this deal is about the ongoing convergence of consumer wireless and fiber. For Lumen, it's about refocusing on the growing AI needs of enterprise customers.

• LMArena, an SF-based AI model reliability platform, raised $100m in seed funding co-led by a16z and UC Investments co-led, joined by Lightspeed, Laude Ventures, Felicis, Kleiner Perkins, and The House Fund. axios.link/43oTJ6B

• Siro, a New York-based sales rep coaching platform, raised $50m in Series B funding. SignalFire led, joined by 01 Advisors. axios.link/3H5urDi

• Slash, an SF-based "vertical banking" startup, raised $41m in Series B funding at a $370m valuation. Goodwater Capital led, joined by YC, NEA, Stanford University, and Menlo Ventures. axios.link/4miTsea

• OpenFx, a cross-border payments infrastructure startup, raised $23m led by Accel. axios.link/3SN1AGd

• Filed, a New York-based tax prep platform, raised $17.3m in pre-seed and seed funding from Northzone, Day One Ventures, J Ventures, Neo, Raine, and Greens Ventures. filed.com

• Pixee, a Baltimore-based application security startup, raised $15m in seed funding. Decibel and Wing VC co-led, joined by TEDCO and PrimeSet. axios.link/3Sc37We

• Kota, an Irish employee benefits startup, raised $14.5m in Series A funding. Eurazeo led, joined by EQT Ventures, Northzone, Frontline Venture, 9Yards, and Plug and Play. axios.link/3ZsBlZm