OpenAI nears $30B raise at $1.25T valuation ahead of IPO

OpenAI is reportedly close to locking in another massive round of private funding rather than pushing ahead with an IPO. Sources told CNBC that OpenAI is working on a raise of up to $30 billion that would value the company at $1.25 trillion before the new money comes in, with Coatue and UAE-based investors leading the round.

The report follows a similar one from Bloomberg a month earlier, which put the raise at the same $30 billion but a $1.4 trillion valuation; both outlets caution that terms are still being negotiated and could change. CNBC also reports the UAE money could come bundled with a separate deal to secure OpenAI more computing capacity from the UAE. OpenAI declined to comment.

A valuation of more than $1 trillion would make OpenAI the most valuable private company in history, and it would raise the bar further for OpenAI’s own IPO: the company filed confidential paperwork for a listing in June, after a March raise valued it at $852 billion post-money.

That sky-high number could also ripple into Anthropic’s own IPO plans, which many believe are closer to landing — rumors suggest a public S-1 filing could come any day. CNBC reports Anthropic is now seeking a valuation of $1.5 to $2 trillion for its debut, after it raised $65 billion in May at a $965 billion valuation — a round many assumed at the time would be its last before going public; Anthropic also filed confidential IPO paperwork in June.

Why it matters

A valuation near $1.25 trillion would make OpenAI’s eventual IPO one of the largest ever, and it sets a benchmark that could push Anthropic toward an even richer public debut of its own.