OpenAI is close to raising as much as $30 billion in a new round that values it at $1.25 trillion before the fresh money goes in, according to CNBC, SiliconANGLE and TechCrunch. UAE investors are leading, with Coatue alongside. OpenAI has told backers it wants signatures by the end of next week, and the final size is not settled.
“right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public”
Sam Altman, OpenAI chief executive, as reported by CNBC · cnbc.com ↗
People familiar with the talks, none named, call it an opportunistic bridge before a possible public listing. UAE investors first approached OpenAI in September, and a separate deal for more UAE compute capacity may follow. OpenAI declined to comment. At that value it would be the most valuable private company ever.
Image for OpenAI takes ChatGPT ads to 26 more countries, 89 in total
Getty Images · Image: CNBC
The listing itself is unsettled. OpenAI confidentially filed its IPO prospectus in June, and CFO Sarah Friar told staff in August it would be public in 2027, yet a month later Sam Altman cooled on listing right away. No IPO date has been disclosed.
March's round raised $122 billion at $852 billion post-money, with Amazon, SoftBank and Nvidia. Bloomberg reported in September a $30 billion-plus raise at about $1.4 trillion, so this figure is lower. Anthropic is also preparing an IPO, reportedly seeking $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion (CNBC, TechCrunch) or up to $2.5 trillion (SiliconANGLE).
Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, in a file photo.
Image: TechCrunch
Sources · 3