OpenAI has reportedly secured $11 billion in a new funding round that values the company at $1.25 trillion. The round is still underway, and the amount raised so far may be only part of the final total.
A round that has not closed
Bloomberg reported the funding on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the outlet, the $11 billion is part of a larger round that has not yet closed.
A source told Bloomberg the round is expected to close in the coming weeks and could total about $20 billion. Until it closes, that figure remains a potential outcome rather than a completed raise.
TechCrunch said it had contacted OpenAI for comment and would update its story if the company responded. The report does not include a response from OpenAI.
Below the earlier fundraising target
In late September, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was looking to raise $30 billion in the upcoming round. The $11 billion raised so far, and even a possible total of about $20 billion, would fall short of that target.
The reported figures offer a snapshot of a fundraising process still in progress. The valuation attached to the round is $1.25 trillion, while the final amount raised remains unsettled.
Investor expectations across AI
The OpenAI report arrived only hours after Bloomberg reported on prospective buyers of shares in an IPO of Anthropic, OpenAI’s chief competitor. Some potential buyers reportedly see Anthropic’s valuation at as low as $1.1 trillion.
That compares with $2 trillion, the valuation investors were said to be expecting roughly a month ago. The two reports point to shifting expectations around major AI companies, though they describe different companies and different funding or share-sale situations.
Public listing plans and market uncertainty
OpenAI previously intimated that it would go public this year, then delayed its plans. Expectations now place the company’s IPO at some point next year, but the report does not give a specific date.
The article also describes a precarious market for AI. The Democratic landslide in the U.S. midterms, together with overwhelmingly negative voter sentiment around data centers, has caused jitters throughout the market. Many are anticipating potential regulatory challenges in the future.
Those concerns form part of the backdrop to the reported funding round. The available details establish the amount raised so far, the valuation, and a possible closing total; they do not say how regulatory concerns affected the fundraising or what the final terms will be.