OpenAI is in early talks with investors about a new funding round that would value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.2 trillion before its planned stock market debut.
Key Points:
- OpenAI is in early, investor-initiated talks on a round valuing it above $1.2 trillion.
- The deal would put OpenAI back ahead of Anthropic, valued at $965 billion in May.
- CEO Sam Altman recently said OpenAI will not go public in 2026.
OpenAI Funding Talks
The artificial intelligence company has held preliminary discussions with large investors, and those investors, not OpenAI, started the talks, a person familiar with the matter said. Any decision to proceed depends on exactly when the company chooses to go public, the person added, asking not to be identified.
Fresh cash could let OpenAI push its listing back by one or two more quarters, according to another person familiar with the plans. It could also fund more deals after the company spent billions on startups such as Jony Ive's AI device maker io and Astral, which builds Python tools for developers. OpenAI is also weighing legal limits on what information it can share with private investors before an IPO.
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Anthropic Valuation Race
A round of that size would lift OpenAI back above its chief rival, Anthropic, which pulled ahead in May with a raise at a $965 billion valuation. Anthropic is now preparing its own IPO and has picked Nasdaq for the listing, which could come as soon as October, according to earlier reports.
OpenAI last raised money in March, collecting $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation from backers that included Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank. The new figure would mark a jump of roughly 40% in about six months. Longtime investors would reportedly get a chance to increase their exposure before the company goes public.
One person reportedly said OpenAI needs capital, pointing to the $34 billion the company spent last year on costs that include training its models. The company maintains it has enough resources, and its annualized revenue reportedly topped $40 billion in August after a 20% rise tied to the release of GPT-5.6.
Sam Altman IPO Delay
The talks come just days after Chief Executive Sam Altman ruled out a listing this year, even though OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO in June and has not disclosed a target date.
In an interview released Sept. 12, Altman told an editor that, given the current debate over safety, now would be an "ill-advised moment to go public."
He said the debut would not happen in 2026 and that OpenAI felt no pressure to hurry toward a listing. His remarks came after an AI researcher who had worked at both OpenAI and Anthropic quit over safety fears, prompting fresh calls to slow the industry's race.
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