OpenAI Targets $30 Billion in New Funding at $1.4 Trillion Value

OpenAI aims to raise at least $30 billion from investors in a new round of funding, according to people familiar with the matter, after the artificial intelligence startup pushed back its plans for an initial public offering.

The company is seeking a valuation of around $1.4 trillion, not including the money raised, said the people, potentially vaulting it back above longtime rival Anthropic’s most recent private market valuation. Bloomberg News previously reported OpenAI was mulling a new round at a $1.2 trillion valuation.

The fundraising discussions are early and could change, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. The demand for the round is being led by investors, one person said, as the firm sees strong revenue growth. OpenAI declined to comment.

The ChatGPT maker has been locked in a heated battle with Anthropic to sign up more business customers and bolster revenue ahead of their planned Wall Street debuts. Both firms have filed confidential paperwork to go public, with Anthropic expected to hold its public listing as soon as this fall.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently said his firm would refrain from going public this year as it focuses on addressing concerns about AI safety, describing it as an “ill-advised moment” for an IPO.

The latest fundraise is meant to serve as a bridge round to provide OpenAI with additional capital in place of an IPO, the people said. OpenAI most recently raised $122 billion in March at a $852 billion valuation, including the money.

Like its peers, OpenAI has faced mounting scrutiny over the potential for AI to cause potential catastrophic harm, including through cybersecurity breaches. OpenAI’s technology has been involved in a number of security incidents, including targeting Australian government websites. The company also said this week it would not release its latest model, GPT-6.1 Astra, because the system didn’t meet its internal safety standards.

Altman has endorsed a plan by Anthropic’s Dario Amodei to slow down development of the most cutting-edge AI models and bring on independent evaluators to help safeguard the technology.

At the same time, OpenAI continues to compete aggressively in the increasingly crowded market for AI agents that field more complex tasks for users. At the company’s developer event on Tuesday, OpenAI unveiled a new always-on AI agent called Dots that is poised to compete directly with products like Muse from Meta Platforms Inc.

OpenAI is also shaking up its subscription offerings by debuting a new high-end $500 paid tier with higher usage limits and faster processing speeds, and reducing certain usage limits for its $200 plan.

Widely considered to be on the backfoot for much of the year, OpenAI has worked to narrow its product focus and seen renewed momentum for tools that streamline the process of coding, among other work.

OpenAI’s revenue run rate accelerated over the summer and topped $40 billion, Bloomberg News reported in August. The company’s run rate revenue has grown by 70% since July, one person said.