OpenAI is raising less than it hoped. The ChatGPT maker has cut the target for its latest funding round from $30bn to $20bn, and expects the first close to land below even that after some backers trimmed their commitments, the Financial Times reported on 30 October, according to TipRanks. The Wall Street Journal reported that about $11bn had been secured so far, with some large investors showing tepid interest. OpenAI has not commented on either report.
The valuation has come down too, to about $1.25 trillion from the roughly $1.4 trillion OpenAI first sought, according to the reports. When TheStak covered the round on 22 October, OpenAI was nearing $30bn.
Related · StartupsAnthropic Will Sell Up to $3.5B of IPO Shares in JapanA Japanese filing shows the Claude maker plans to sell up to ¥552.9bn of shares to investors in Japan as part of its US listing.Who is still in
- A group from the UAE, including the state-backed technology fund MGX, is expected to provide the largest share; the deal would also give OpenAI an option to lease new computing capacity in the region.
- Founders Fund, Coatue, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also expected to take part.
- OpenAI is planning a public listing in 2027.
The timing is poor. The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.46% on Friday, 30 October, as investors balked at the cost of AI, and OpenAI wanted its money in before Anthropic's IPO, which draws on the same pool of investors, Innovation Village notes.
