OpenAI Reportedly Looking to Hurry and Get Valued at $1.4 Trillion Before Anthropic IPO

Reuters reports, based on sources who were not named, that OpenAI is trying to raise money unusually quickly. The company reportedly wants past investors, such as SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's MGX, to put more money into the business. This could raise OpenAI's estimated value to $1.4 trillion or more.

Anthropic has been worth more than OpenAI by a clear margin since May of this year. Late last month, analysts predicted that Anthropic could be worth $2 trillion when it sells shares to the public in November. However, financial experts have more recently suggested that its market value after the public sale could be 25% lower, at $1.5 trillion.

In other words, if OpenAI quickly reaches a value of $1.4 trillion and Anthropic has a much weaker-than-expected public stock sale, the two rivals could end up competing closely in value again. Reuters says its sources expect this fundraising round to move faster than is normal for a deal of this size.

However, a company's value is not everything. OpenAI also appears to need cash to keep building its infrastructure. Reuters reports that the company needs about $30 billion for this purpose.

Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company would not sell shares to the public in 2026. A couple of weeks later, he made the timing less clear, saying OpenAI would not go public until its AI models stopped behaving in unexpected and uncontrolled ways. Financial markets and the AI industry are now facing some uncertainty, as investors grow more concerned about AI companies carrying large amounts of debt.