OpenAI is working to raise up to $30 billion in a private funding round at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation led by Coatue and investors from the United Arab Emirates, according to CNBC. [2] TechCrunch reported the same figures and said terms are still being negotiated. [1] OpenAI declined comment to TechCrunch. [1]
OpenAI told investors on Thursday that it wants commitments signed by the end of next week, although the final amount is still undecided, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the deal. [2] The financing is being positioned as an "opportunistic" bridge ahead of a potential IPO. [2] Alongside the investment, OpenAI is negotiating a commercial deal to secure more computing capacity from the UAE. [2] The company told investors in February it aims to spend about $600 billion on computing by 2030. [2]
Reuters reported on Oct. 19 that OpenAI was racing to close commitments before Anthropic's expected mid-November public debut and that the round could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.4 trillion. [3] That report said SoftBank, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and other existing backers were in talks to join the roughly $30 billion round. [3] Last week, OpenAI met with long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds. [3] Some investors see the fundraising effort as a way to secure commitments from funds that might otherwise put more money into Anthropic’s IPO, Reuters reported. [3]
OpenAI is telling investors that revenue growth picked up after it released GPT-6 Astra, and that the company reached $50 billion in annualized revenue and expects to hit $70 billion by the end of the year, one person said. [3] The company has cut prices on cheaper models, a move it says increased usage, and has told investors it can reduce model prices further. [3] Anthropic's revenue run rate was about $65 billion by July, and its third-quarter revenue was $16.8 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the second quarter, but slowing month-to-month growth has raised concerns among investors. [3]
OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with the SEC in June and has not said when it plans to debut. [2] Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told staff in August that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027," and CEO Sam Altman said last month that "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public." [2] The company's last valuation was $852 billion in March, after a $122 billion funding round that included Amazon's commitment to invest up to $50 billion. [3] Anthropic also filed confidentially in June and is reportedly seeking a $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion valuation. [2] Anthropic's May round brought in $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation. [2]
Several IPO candidates have paused or pulled listings amid volatility. [3] AirTrunk REIT, Firmus and SB Energy have shelved or delayed their listings, and Holtec cited a "perfect storm" tied to data-center demand. [3] The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has shed $1.6 trillion in less than two weeks. [3]
Sources
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Elliot Marsh covers startups, IPO filings and the money behind them for Venturist. Elliot writes from SEC filings, company announcements and published reporting.