OpenAI shifts value to US$1.25 trillion as funding talks finalise

OpenAI is trying to raise about US$30 billion in a new round of funding. As the talks near their final stages, the company is now aiming to be valued at US$1.25 trillion (S$1.6 trillion), according to people who know about the discussions.

The company behind ChatGPT has lowered the value being discussed by US$150 billion, from US$1.4 trillion. This information came from people involved in the talks who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

The talks about raising money are still happening, and the details could change, the sources said.

OpenAI last raised US$122 billion in March. At that time, the company was valued at US$852 billion, including the new money it raised.

Coatue Management is discussing a plan to help lead this new round of funding, according to the people. OpenAI has also been talking with several investment funds from the United Arab Emirates and other companies, including BlackRock, as Bloomberg reported earlier.

OpenAI did not want to comment. Coatue did not immediately reply when asked for a comment.

One person said OpenAI expects investors to finish confirming how much money they will provide by the end of next week.

CNBC reported the US$1.25 trillion valuation earlier.

Technology company shares have fallen this week. This happened after companies including Meta Platforms and Tesla reported mixed financial results for the latest quarter. These results made investors more worried that companies may be spending too much money on artificial intelligence, or AI.

Many investors are closely watching how people respond to Anthropic PBC’s first sale of shares to the public, which is expected to happen in November. Anthropic is a competitor of OpenAI.

OpenAI has delayed its own plans to sell shares to the public for the first time until 2027. The company said it made this decision because it wants to focus on making AI safer. BLOOMBERG