Key points
- OpenAI's proposed valuation falls $150 billion
- UAE investors and Coatue lead funding talks
- OpenAI seeks commitments before Anthropic's expected IPO
OpenAI is close to raising up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, about $150 billion below the price it first pitched to investors, according to CNBC and Bloomberg.
During the final stages of negotiations, OpenAI lowered the valuation discussed in the talks from $1.4 trillion. The talks are ongoing, and the details could change. OpenAI declined to comment.
Even at the lower price, OpenAI's valuation would rise
The proposed deal values OpenAI at $1.25 trillion before counting the new investment. A full $30 billion raise would bring that to $1.28 trillion, about 50% above its $852 billion valuation after the March round, by our calculations.
That earlier round raised a record $122 billion and included a commitment of up to $50 billion from Amazon (AMZN).
UAE investors and Coatue are leading the round
Investors from the United Arab Emirates and the investment firm Coatue are leading the round. The UAE funding could also come with a deal giving OpenAI more computing capacity from the UAE.
Earlier this month, OpenAI was in talks with Abu Dhabi's MGX and BlackRock (BLK) about anchoring the round at $1.4 trillion. SoftBank Group (SFTBY), an existing backer, was also in talks to join.
OpenAI seeks commitments ahead of Anthropic's expected IPO
OpenAI has been speeding up the raise to lock in commitments before Anthropic's expected IPO in mid-November, since both companies are courting many of the same investors. OpenAI has told investors its annualized revenue reached $50 billion after the launch of GPT-6 Astra and should hit $70 billion by the end of the year.
Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in May. Both companies filed confidential IPO paperwork in June. OpenAI's leaders have pointed to 2027 for its listing. Our OpenAI IPO tracker and Anthropic IPO tracker follow each company's path to a listing.
