Solid-state auride salts featuring the negatively charged Auion are known to be stable in the presence of alkali metal counter-ions. While such electron-rich species might be expected to be nucleophilic (cf. I -), their instability in solution means that this has not been verified experimentally. Here we report the two-coordinate gold complex (NON)AlAuP t Bu3 (3, NON = 4,5-bis(2,6-diisopropylanilido)-2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethylxanthene) synthesised by the reaction of the potassium aluminyl complex [K{Al(NON)}]2 (1) with t Bu3PAuI, and which features a strongly polarized bond, Au(d-)-Al(d+). 3 has been studied computationally, with QTAIM charge analysis implying a charge at gold (-0.82) which is in line with the relative electronegativities of the two metals (Au: 2.54; Al: 1.61 on the Pauling scale). Consistently, 3 is found to act as an unprecedented nucleophilic source of gold, reacting with diisopropylcarbodiimide and CO2 to give the Au-C bonded insertion products (NON)Al(X2C)AuP t Bu3 (X = N i Pr, 4; X = O, 5).Transition elements are known to be able to access multiple oxidation states 1 , a property which underpins widespread application in fields such as small molecule activation and catalysis 2,3 . The vast majority of transition metal complexes however, feature cationic metals in positive oxidation states, ligated by neutral or anionic donors 1,4 . Systems featuring formal negative oxidation states, such as the tetracarbonylferrate 5 or bis(benzene)vanadium 6 anions are much less common, and usually require strong p-acceptor ligands, most frequently CO 7 . In this regard, gold is unique, being the only transition metal to give rise to a stable "naked" monoanion (Au -, auride) in the condensed phase 8 . In part, this is due to relativistic effects which contract the 6s orbital significantly, resulting in an electron affinity of 2.30 eV, the highest of any transition metal 9,10 .This value is more comparable to those of the chalcogens (e.g. S: 2.08 eV; Se: 2.02 eV) than to the lighter group 11 congeners (Cu: 1.23 eV; Ag 1.30 eV) 10 . The 12-electron auride anion is typically generated by the reduction of metallic gold with alkali metals, to give salts such as CsAu and RbAu 11,12 ; the solution chemistry of these salts, however, is restricted to liquid ammonia 13,14 .Reduction of organometallic gold compounds to give systems in low oxidation states (i.e. zero or below) has been attempted, but with limited success [15][16][17][18][19][20] . Thermodynamics typically drive the aggregation of molecular Au(0) systems to clusters of colloidal gold [15][16][17][18] . Recently however, electron-rich gold complexes have been reported by Bertrand and co-workers, by making use of strongly p-accepting cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAAC) ligands (I and II, Figure 1) 19 . In addition, a four-coordinate molecular 'boroauride' was reported by Harman and co-workers last year in which the gold centre is stabilized by a diboraanthracene-based scaffold (III, Figure 1) 20 .Notwithstanding these examples, and even though Auions...