Investors have until October 30 to commit as the ChatGPT maker races Anthropic to market
OpenAI has cut the valuation target on a funding round of up to US$30bn to US$1.25tn, down from the US$1.4tn put to investors earlier this month.
The reduction followed resistance from some investors, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Bloomberg put the shift at US$150bn, according to people it said were involved in the talks.
At US$1.25tn, the San Francisco artificial intelligence company would be worth almost 50 percent more than the US$852bn valuation set in March after a US$122bn round, the FT said.
CNBC, which first reported the US$1.25tn figure, said the valuation excludes the new capital raised.
Prospective investors have until October 30 to commit, according to the FT, and the company may raise less than US$30bn depending on interest.
Morgan Stanley and the San Francisco technology fund Dragoneer had offered OpenAI to the bank’s private wealth clients at a pre-money valuation of US$1.4tn, the FT reported, citing documents it had seen.
People with knowledge of that process told the paper client demand was weaker than in earlier rounds, with some investors having already invested heavily in prior raises.
Coatue Management and funds from the United Arab Emirates are in discussions to lead, according to CNBC.
Bloomberg reported OpenAI has also held talks with BlackRock Inc.
Reuters, in reporting dated October 19, said SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and other existing backers were in talks to join.
The FT reported the deal gives OpenAI right of first refusal on new computing power developed by its UAE partners.
OpenAI declined to comment to Bloomberg and the FT. Coatue did not respond to requests for comment from either outlet.
Anthropic’s initial public offering is expected in mid-November 2026, Reuters reported, and OpenAI is working to lock in commitments before it.
Anthropic is seeking a valuation between US$1.5tn and US$2tn, according to CNBC.
Its third-quarter revenue reached US$16.8bn, up from US$11.6bn in the second quarter, Reuters reported, with slowing month-to-month growth prompting some investors to argue for the lower end of that range.
OpenAI is pitching investors on US$50bn in annualized revenue, rising to an expected US$70bn by year-end, Reuters said.
Edward Best, co-chair of capital markets at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, told the agency the contest is “really a two-horse race in terms of being public.”
Best is not working on the deal and spoke on a hypothetical basis.
OpenAI filed its prospectus confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June, CNBC reported.
A person close to the company told the FT a listing was likely in the first half of 2027, with no date fixed.
Companies in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index have lost US$1.6tn in under two weeks, Reuters reported.
Shares and debt of cloud provider CoreWeave fell as investors examined the nearly US$50bn in borrowings behind its expansion.
Blackstone-backed AirTrunk REIT, Nvidia-backed Firmus and SoftBank-backed SB Energy have pulled or paused listings.
Bloomberg reported US technology stocks fell after mixed quarterly results from Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc.
Jimmy Chang, chief investment officer at the Rockefeller Global Family Office, which holds exposure to both OpenAI and Anthropic, told the FT that “the market needs to see a successful IPO.”
