OpenAI working on new $30B raise at $1.25T valuation ahead of IPO

Photo source: Darrell Etherington, using Getty images under license

OpenAI is reportedly trying to raise a large amount of money from private investors instead of going straight to an initial public offering (IPO), when a company first sells its shares to the public. The proposed deal could also give OpenAI access to more computing power from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

OpenAI is working to raise up to $30 billion at a value of $1.25 trillion before the new investment is added. Sources told CNBC that Coatue and investors in the UAE are leading the funding round. The terms are still being discussed and could change. CNBC also reports that the UAE investment could be linked to a deal giving OpenAI access to more computing power from the country. OpenAI declined to comment.

This was reported by TechCrunch.

The report follows a Bloomberg article from a month earlier, which said OpenAI was seeking $30 billion at a value of $1.4 trillion. If the new funding round values OpenAI at more than $1 trillion, it would make the company the most valuable privately owned company ever. It would also set an even higher target for OpenAI's planned IPO. OpenAI filed confidential paperwork for an IPO in June. Before that, a funding round in March valued the company behind ChatGPT at $852 billion after the new investment was included.

The valuation could also affect plans for an expected IPO by Anthropic, which many people believe is getting closer. Rumors suggest Anthropic could file its public S-1 registration document at any time. CNBC reports that the company is seeking a value of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion when it first sells shares to the public. In May, Anthropic raised $65 billion at a value of $965 billion. At the time, many people thought this would be its last major funding round before an IPO. The company also filed confidential IPO paperwork in June.