Abstract:
According to media reports citing people familiar with the matter,
ChatGPT developer OpenAI is in preliminary discussions with investors on a new round of financing, which may bring the company’s valuation to US$1.2 trillion
. This potential financing coincides with OpenAI’s revenue growth accelerating after the release of GPT-5.6 and the Astra model.
The latest target valuation has increased significantly from March
, OpenAI raised US$122 billion at that time, with a post-money valuation of US$852 billion.People familiar with the matter said
Conversations with investors are still in the early stages
, the final valuation figure may change in the coming months. Any decision to move forward with this round of funding will depend on when OpenAI is finally determined to go public.Informed sources also said that these financing discussions were initiated by investors, not OpenAI.
OpenAI is trying to capitalize on renewed demand for its products to complete the fundraising. Following the launch of GPT-5.6 in July, the company released the Astra large model earlier this month. The launch of these new models reversed a relatively slow growth trend at the beginning of the year and accelerated the company's revenue growth.
People familiar with the matter said
OpenAI "needs capital" because the company has burned tens of billions of dollars training models in recent years
. The startup spent $34 billion last year but insists it has ample cash reserves after raising capital in March.Informed sources also revealed that with the release of GPT-5.6, OpenAI’s annualized revenue (ARR) exceeded US$40 billion last month, a month-on-month increase of 20%.
The latest financing will pave the way for the long-awaited IPO. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said that the IPO is still in preparation, but it will not be listed this year. He noted that it would be an "unwise time" to go public amid growing concerns about the existential risks posed by AI.
It is reported that OpenAI secretly submitted an IPO prospectus in June this year, but subsequently postponed the listing timetable. A new round of private placement financing would provide long-term backers such as SoftBank and Thrive Capital with the opportunity to increase their holdings, but it would also mean that these investors would have to wait longer to reap huge returns through the IPO.
At the same time, this round of financing will make OpenAI’s valuation exceed that of its main competitor Anthropic. After Anthropic completed financing in May this year, its valuation was US$965 billion, surpassing OpenAI, causing investors to question the development direction of OpenAI.
Meanwhile, media reported last week that Anthropic was on track to post adjusted profits for the second consecutive quarter. The company is expected to go public as early as October and is targeting a valuation of about $2 trillion.
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