OpenAI is raising up to $30 billion at a reported $1.25 trillion valuation
CNBC's sources say UAE investors and Coatue are leading a round pitched as a bridge to a potential IPO. OpenAI declined to comment.
By Robert Harrison ·
For information only, not investment advice.
OpenAI is raising up to $30 billion at a reported $1.25 trillion valuation, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the deal. That valuation doesn't include the new money, and the people said investors from the United Arab Emirates are leading the round alongside Coatue. OpenAI declined to comment to TechCrunch; CNBC's details come from people familiar with the deal.
Per CNBC's sources, the round is being pitched as an "opportunistic" bridge ahead of a potential IPO. OpenAI told investors Thursday it wants signatures by the end of next week, but the final size is still being worked out. One person told CNBC that OpenAI is also negotiating a deal for more computing capacity from the UAE. The company told investors in February it is targeting roughly $600 billion in total compute spend by 2030.
For scale, OpenAI's last raise in March valued it at $852 billion post-money, per TechCrunch. A valuation above $1 trillion would make it the most valuable private company ever. Bloomberg reported a month ago that OpenAI was working on $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, and terms could still change.
The public-market angle is the IPO. OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with the SEC in June, and CFO Sarah Friar told employees in August it "will be a public company in 2027." A month later, CEO Sam Altman said "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public." Rival Anthropic also filed confidentially in June and is reportedly seeking a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in its offering, per CNBC. TechCrunch notes OpenAI's price tag could have ramifications for that IPO.
Sources
Tags: funding-round · valuation · ai · ipo · venture-capital