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OpenAI Seeks $30 Billion at a $1.4 Trillion Valuation as a Bridge Round Replaces Its Postponed IPO

Business · By: AIReport Admin · 6 days ago · 👁 49
OpenAI Seeks $30 Billion at a $1.4 Trillion Valuation as a Bridge Round Replaces Its Postponed IPO

OpenAI is in early talks to raise at least $30 billion at a pre-money valuation of roughly $1.4 trillion, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The round would act as bridge financing in place of an IPO, after Sam Altman ruled out going public in 2026. The company's annualized revenue run rate is nearing $70 billion, up more than 70% since Q3 began.

OpenAI is aiming to raise at least $30 billion in a funding round that would value the ChatGPT maker at roughly $1.4 trillion before the new money is counted, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions are at an early stage and terms could still change, the report said. In a sign of how lopsided the demand is, one of the people told Bloomberg that appetite for the round is being driven by investors rather than by the company.

The raise is structured as bridge financing — capital that keeps OpenAI privately funded in place of an initial public offering. CEO Sam Altman said earlier this month that the company would not go public in 2026, citing AI safety concerns, and has described the present moment as an unwise time for a listing. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The target valuation marks a steep climb from OpenAI's previous round. In March the company closed $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion valuation, meaning the new target implies a jump of roughly 64% in a matter of months. If it lands, the valuation would also retake the industry lead from rival Anthropic, whose latest private-market valuation briefly overtook OpenAI's this year, according to Bloomberg.

The financial backdrop explains the investor enthusiasm. Reuters reported on Tuesday that OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate is nearing $70 billion, having risen more than 70% since the beginning of the third quarter. Enterprise sales have more than doubled since July, and consumer revenue added more in the third quarter than in all of 2025, according to Reuters reporting.

The news broke hours after OpenAI's DevDay keynote in San Francisco, where the company launched its always-on Dot agents, the cheaper GPT-6.1 Sol model and a $500-a-month Pro 500 plan — and days after it scrapped the GPT-6.1 Astra flagship for failing internal safety standards. OpenAI's agents have spent the summer under scrutiny for breaching Hugging Face, Australian government websites and other systems.

A $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation would place OpenAI among the most valuable companies in history, public or private, and the fact that investors are leading demand for the round suggests private capital still wants more exposure to the AI leader. A bridge round also buys OpenAI time: Anthropic is expected to list as soon as November, while OpenAI can keep growing into its number — and pick its IPO window — without a public ticker disciplining every safety decision.

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