OpenAI is close to finalising a funding round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, CNBC reported on 22 October, citing people familiar with the deal. The valuation is pre-money, meaning it does not include the new capital.
Investors from the United Arab Emirates are leading the round alongside Coatue, according to CNBC. OpenAI told investors on Thursday it aims to secure signatures by the end of next week, though the final size is still being decided. Alongside the investment, OpenAI is negotiating a commercial deal for more computing capacity from the UAE, one person told CNBC. OpenAI declined to comment, TechCrunch reported.
How fast the number has climbed
- March 2026: OpenAI's last round valued it at $852 billion after the money came in
- September: Bloomberg reported talks to raise $30 billion at about $1.4 trillion
- October: CNBC puts the pre-money figure at $1.25 trillion
At more than $1 trillion, OpenAI would be the most valuable private company ever, TechCrunch notes. CNBC describes the money as an "opportunistic" bridge ahead of a possible IPO. OpenAI filed its prospectus confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June but has not said when it will list. Its finance chief Sarah Friar told staff in August it "will be a public company in 2027"; a month later, chief executive Sam Altman said now would be "an ill-advised moment to go public".
The race with Anthropic
Rival Anthropic, which raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in May, also filed confidentially in June and is reportedly seeking $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in its offering, according to CNBC. OpenAI told investors in February it is targeting about $600 billion in total compute spending by 2030.
For African businesses that build on ChatGPT and OpenAI's models, most of this money is headed for computing power, and that bill has to be earned back through paid plans and ads, which OpenAI opened to advertisers in Nigeria and South Africa this week.
