OpenAI has raised $11 billion toward a new funding round that values the company at $1.25 trillion, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the figures on Friday citing sources familiar with the matter. Reuters and TechCrunch followed with their own reports confirming the raise, and The Verge noted that the valuation lands just as rival Anthropic prepares to go public.
The $11 billion is only part of a round that has not yet closed. Bloomberg's sources said the round is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks and could total roughly $20 billion when all commitments are counted. That would still fall well short of the $30 billion OpenAI was reportedly seeking in late September, a target that was subsequently lowered to around $20 billion as a tech rout deepened through the fall. For more context on this story, see our ongoing AI trends.
The completed portion already ranks among the largest single raises in private-market history, and the final total would place this round alongside the biggest financing events of the AI boom. What makes the number remarkable is the context it arrives in: one of the sharpest AI-driven market corrections of the past two years.
A Valuation Confirmed Amid Market Turmoil
The new price tag lands at a precarious moment for the AI sector. Earlier this week, the Nasdaq fell 5.5 percent in a single session as midterm results fueled an AI selloff, temporarily erasing trillions of dollars in market value. Stocks bounced back on Friday, with the BBC reporting that markets recovered much of the ground lost after the trillions were wiped from valuations, but the underlying anxiety about AI spending has not gone away.
TechCrunch noted that the OpenAI news arrived only hours after Bloomberg reported that potential buyers of shares in Anthropic's upcoming IPO are eyeing a substantially lower valuation than the company had targeted. According to that report, some investors believe Anthropic could be worth as little as $1.1 trillion, compared with the $2 trillion figure market participants were said to be expecting roughly a month ago. The Financial Times and CNBC reported this week that Anthropic is pressing ahead with the listing regardless, even as its bankers absorb a cooled reception.
The two developments together frame a strange dynamic: private valuations remain near record highs even as public-market investors demand steep discounts.
What the Money Is For
Neither OpenAI nor its investors have publicly detailed how the new capital will be allocated, but the raise extends a financing strategy built around enormous infrastructure commitments. The company has pledged to cover the full power costs of its data-center projects and to drop restrictive non-disclosure agreements, concessions it made after voter backlash against data-center construction became a defining issue of the midterm campaign.
OpenAI's chief financial officer said this week, according to Reuters, that the company intends to press ahead with its data-center expansion despite the midterm sweep, which produced a Congress widely expected to scrutinize AI development and data-center construction more aggressively. Executives from Arm and Qualcomm also reacted publicly to the post-midterm selloff, according to CNBC, underlining how broadly the repricing has spread through the chip and infrastructure supply chain.
The Path to an IPO Remains Open
OpenAI had previously signaled that it might go public this year, but those plans were delayed. Expectations now point to an IPO sometime next year, which would put the company on a collision course with Anthropic, whose filing is further along and whose bankers are currently discovering how much buyers are actually willing to pay.
For now, the $1.25 trillion valuation gives OpenAI one of the highest private-market price tags ever recorded. Whether public investors will eventually underwrite that number is the question both companies are about to test.
TechCrunch reported that it reached out to OpenAI for comment on the round and had not received a response at the time of publication. Bloomberg noted that the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment either.
Why the Discount Matters Beyond OpenAI
The gap between what private rounds are paying and what IPO buyers will pay has become the central tension in AI financing. Venture-backed companies raised enormous sums through 2025 and into 2026 at valuations that assumed uninterrupted growth in AI spending. The past week's market turmoil, coupled with surveys showing strongly negative voter sentiment toward data centers, has made those assumptions harder to defend.
If Anthropic's IPO prices near the $1.1 trillion level that Bloomberg's sources describe, it would set a fresh public benchmark far below the private marks both companies have celebrated. That benchmark would, in turn, make it harder for OpenAI to defend its $1.25 trillion figure when it eventually approaches public markets itself. Lenders who financed the data-center buildout on the strength of those valuations would face the same arithmetic.
For now, the company has its $11 billion, a valuation it can point to, and a closing date that should arrive within weeks. The scrutiny that comes with both is close behind.
---
Stay Ahead of AIGet the latest AI news, analysis, and breakthroughs — all in one place.
Read more AI news →
