OpenAI Is Racing to Raise $30 Billion Before Anthropic Goes Public
Quick Read
Amazon and NVIDIA can make money no matter which AI company wins. This may make them safer ways to invest in AI than OpenAI, valued at $1.4 trillion, or Anthropic, which hopes to reach a $2 trillion value in its IPO.
OpenAI needs to complete its $30 billion funding round before Anthropic's expected IPO in mid-November. The public listing could set a price for AI companies and show whether private valuations are too high.
Anthropic hopes to be valued at $2 trillion when it goes public, but some investors want a value closer to $1.5 trillion after its third-quarter results fell short of expectations. This suggests public investors may pay less for AI companies than private investors have paid.
OpenAI is asking investors for about $30 billion and wants to finish raising the money before its main rival, Anthropic, goes public. Reuters reported on October 19, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter, that OpenAI hopes to close the funding round before Anthropic's expected public listing in mid-November.
The funding round could value OpenAI at more than $1.4 trillion. That is much higher than the $852 billion value it reached in March. No deal has been signed yet. Existing investors, including SoftBank Group and Abu Dhabi's MGX, are discussing the deal. The round is expected to move faster than most funding rounds of this size. OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment. Anthropic and MGX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Neither company is publicly listed, so investors can gain exposure to them through their investors and suppliers. On October 19, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 4.98%. An analyst also named Amazon a Top Pick that day. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) gained 0.84%, while NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose 1.38%.
Why OpenAI Wants Its Money Before November
The week before the report, OpenAI met with investment funds that mainly buy and hold stocks for a long time, as well as government-backed investment funds. Anthropic held its own investor day during the same period. Only a small number of investors can provide this much money, and both companies are approaching many of the same investors.
Why OpenAI Wants Its Money Before November
Once Anthropic goes public, its share price will give investors a public benchmark for judging the value of private AI companies. If OpenAI raises its money first, it can agree on its funding terms before that benchmark exists.
The money would also provide a safety net. It could help OpenAI pay for its infrastructure commitments if a weaker IPO market delays its planned 2027 stock market listing.
"It's really a two-horse race in terms of being public," said Edward Best of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who is not involved in the deal.
What Buyers Are Paying For at These Prices
OpenAI reportedly told investors that its annualized revenue reached $50 billion after it launched GPT-6 Astra. It expects annualized revenue to reach $70 billion by the end of the year. These figures have not been independently audited.
Anthropic reached about $65 billion in annualized revenue by July. Its quarterly revenue rose from $11.6 billion in the second quarter to $16.8 billion in the third quarter. At either company's proposed valuation, investors are paying today for years of fast growth that have not happened yet.
OpenAI has also accused Anthropic of making its revenue look larger by counting the full value of contracts. Anthropic says it follows accepted accounting rules.
The full value of a contract is the total amount a customer agrees to pay over several years. Recognized revenue is the amount a company has actually earned as it provides its service. Counting the full contract value earlier can make a company appear larger sooner.
Anthropic reportedly wants to be valued at $2 trillion in its IPO. Some current and potential investors have argued for a value closer to $1.5 trillion after its third-quarter results failed to meet expectations. OpenAI's effort to raise money before the IPO points to the same concern: public investors may value AI companies less highly than private investors have.
What the Funding Race Means for AI Suppliers
The benefits of the AI boom can be seen in supplier results. Amazon reported a $53.4 billion gain before taxes in its second quarter, mainly because of its investments in Anthropic. NVIDIA said OpenAI's current and planned commitments account for about 12 gigawatts of computing capacity.
These gains are based on estimated values of investments in private companies, not necessarily money received from selling them. If Anthropic goes public at a lower value, Amazon's reported gains could shrink. Amazon has also committed up to $50 billion to OpenAI's $122 billion funding round in March, giving it financial ties to both companies. The size of Microsoft puts the $30 billion funding target in perspective: Microsoft has a market value of $3.96 trillion.
We believe the AI investment story looks strongest when investing through suppliers, because they can earn money whichever AI company wins. The AI companies themselves appear to have very high valuations. We highlighted seven companies that supply the essential tools and equipment behind AI, from power to cooling, in a free report. The key test comes in mid-November. If Anthropic's IPO values it below $1.5 trillion, that would suggest public investors are putting lower values on AI companies.
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