OpenAI nears up to $30 billion funding round at $1.25 trillion valuation, CNBC reports
People familiar with the deal told CNBC that investors from the United Arab Emirates and Coatue are leading the round, which OpenAI is aiming to sign by the end of next week. The terms are still being negotiated, and OpenAI declined to comment, TechCrunch reported.
OpenAI is close to finalising a funding round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, CNBC reported on Thursday 22 October, citing people familiar with the deal. Bloomberg also reported the $1.25 trillion figure.
Investors from the United Arab Emirates and the investment firm Coatue are leading the round, according to CNBC’s sources, who said the financing is being positioned as an “opportunistic” bridge ahead of a possible stock market listing. OpenAI told investors on Thursday that it aimed to secure signatures by the end of next week, but the final size of the round was still being decided, the people said.
Alongside the investment, OpenAI is negotiating a commercial deal for more computing capacity from the UAE, one person told CNBC.
TechCrunch noted that Bloomberg had reported a month earlier that OpenAI was seeking $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation. OpenAI declined to comment, TechCrunch said. OpenAI’s previous round, in March, valued it at $852 billion after the new money, according to TechCrunch.
OpenAI confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June and has not said when it plans to list, CNBC reported. Chief financial officer Sarah Friar told staff in August that OpenAI “will be a public company in 2027”, and in September chief executive Sam Altman said “right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public”, according to CNBC.
Rival Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in May and also filed confidentially for a listing in June, CNBC reported.
See also: OpenAI to offer its models and Codex on Google Cloud.
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