OpenAI is working to raise up to $30 billion in private funding at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, sources told CNBC. Coatue and investors in the United Arab Emirates would lead the round. OpenAI declined to comment.
The terms are still being negotiated. Bloomberg reported a month earlier that OpenAI was seeking $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation. Both reports say the terms could change.
CNBC also reported that funding from the UAE could be paired with a deal for more computing capacity for OpenAI from the country. That deal is a possibility, not a settled part of the proposed round.
The round could set a private-company record
If the round gives OpenAI a valuation above $1 trillion, it would become the most valuable private company ever. It would also set a higher valuation benchmark for OpenAI’s planned IPO. The ChatGPT maker filed confidential IPO paperwork in June, after a March funding round valued it at $852 billion post-money.
The proposed OpenAI valuation also provides context for Anthropic’s IPO plans. CNBC reports that Anthropic is seeking a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion for its public debut. Reports suggest its public S-1 filing could come soon, though no filing date is confirmed.
Anthropic raised $65 billion in May at a $965 billion valuation. Many viewed that as its last major private round before an IPO. Anthropic also filed confidential IPO paperwork in June.
The next step for OpenAI’s proposed round is to settle its terms, which both CNBC and Bloomberg report are still under negotiation.
