OpenAI working on new $30B raise at $1.25T valuation ahead of IPO
TechCrunch Julie Bort ● Covered by 4 sources
Rumor — unconfirmed reporting.
OpenAI is trying to raise up to $30B more, with a $1.25T valuation. That could make it the most valuable private company ever, before any IPO.
Based on reporting by TechCrunch, Julie Bort — read the original for the full story.
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OpenAI may be heading for yet another giant private round instead of sprinting straight to the public markets. CNBC says the company is working on a raise of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, with Coatue and investors in the UAE leading the effort.
That number is eye-watering even by OpenAI standards. It would push the company past the $1 trillion mark and set a new record for the most highly valued private company ever, if the deal lands on those terms. Bloomberg reported a month ago that OpenAI was exploring a similar $30 billion round, but at a $1.4 trillion valuation. The catch, as both reports note, is that the terms are still in motion.
There’s also a practical angle here, not just a financial one. CNBC says the UAE money could come with a separate arrangement for more computing capacity from the region. OpenAI declined to comment.
And the IPO story is still sitting in the background. OpenAI filed confidential paperwork in June, after its March round valued the ChatGPT maker at $852 billion post-money. Another round this large would raise the bar even higher for that eventual listing, assuming it still wants one. It would also add pressure on Anthropic, which CNBC says may be eyeing a public debut at a $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion valuation after its own June filing and its $65 billion raise in May at a $965 billion valuation.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is the clearest sign yet that private markets can still pretend to be public markets, only with less disclosure and more zeroes. OpenAI is learning the oldest lesson in Silicon Valley: if the price keeps going up, nobody rushes to the IPO door. The joke is that the “exit” now looks a lot like another funding round.
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