Abstract:
OpenAI is advancing a new round of financing at an unusually fast pace, hoping to complete financing commitments before rival Anthropic is expected to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in mid-November. The scale of this round of financing is approximately US$30 billion, and upon completion OpenAI’s valuation is expected to exceed US$1.4 trillion.
OpenAI wants to speed up the process in part because it and Anthropic are increasingly competing for the same large investors, sources said. As competition between the two parties becomes increasingly fierce, OpenAI hopes to use its recent business growth momentum to complete financing first to avoid direct comparison with Anthropic before and after its listing.
It is understood that Japan’s SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi investment institution MGX and other existing investors are participating in relevant negotiations. If the financing is successfully completed, it will become one of the largest financing transactions in the history of the artificial intelligence industry.
Market participants pointed out that OpenAI and Anthropic are moving toward trillion-dollar valuations at the same time. The competition for funds between the two companies reflects the current huge demand for capital in the generative artificial intelligence industry. But at the same time, the global investment environment is also facing challenges such as rising interest rates, fluctuations in technology stocks, and scrutiny of the rationality of AI valuations.
People familiar with the matter said that OpenAI had held multiple talks with long-term investment funds and sovereign wealth funds last week, and at the same time, Anthropic was also holding a promotion event for investors. Compared with financing of the same scale, OpenAI’s financing is progressing significantly faster.
Analysts believe that OpenAI not only needs funds to support the continued expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, but also hopes to strengthen its balance sheet strength to cope with the risk that changes in the capital market environment may cause delays in its listing plan originally scheduled for 2027.
While stakes in both companies are sought after by investors, many institutions are facing the dilemma of how to allocate funds between two highly valued artificial intelligence investment opportunities. Some investors believe that OpenAI’s move is intended to lock in capital in advance to prevent some funds from flowing to Anthropic’s upcoming IPO.
OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment on related financing news, while Anthropic and MGX did not immediately respond to media requests for comment.
To boost investor confidence, OpenAI is highlighting its latest growth data. According to people familiar with the matter, the company's revenue growth has further accelerated since the launch of the GPT-6 Astra model. Annualized revenue has now reached US$50 billion and is expected to increase to US$70 billion by the end of this year.
At the same time, OpenAI also told investors that the company has lowered the charging standards for some low-price models and believes that lower prices have promoted user growth. The company also believes that there is still room to further reduce the cost of artificial intelligence models in the future.
As a major competitor, Anthropic previously disclosed that its annual revenue reached approximately US$65 billion in July this year. The company's third-quarter revenue rose to $16.8 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the second quarter. However, as monthly revenue growth has slowed, some investors have begun to remain cautious about its valuation.
As two major artificial intelligence companies successively hit trillion-dollar valuations and compete for the world's top capital support, a new round of financing and listing competition in the generative artificial intelligence industry is entering a critical stage.
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