OpenAI has reduced the size of its current fundraising effort, according to reporting from The Financial Times cited in multiple news accounts. The company had earlier been reported to be seeking $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, and later at a $1.25 trillion valuation, ahead of a planned IPO. The FT reported Friday that the target has since been cut to $20 billion, with an initial close expected to come in below that figure.
The round is being led by a group of investors from the United Arab Emirates, the FT reported. A later retail offering aimed at wealthy individuals could lift the total raised to the $20 billion target, according to that report.
The Wall Street Journal followed with additional detail, reporting that OpenAI has secured $11 billion so far. The Journal also reported that the fundraising effort drew a tepid response from some large investors.
OpenAI has not commented publicly on the reports. TechCrunch said it had reached out to the company for comment.
The funding shortfall comes amid a broader shift in investor sentiment on Wall Street, where concerns about heavy spending on AI infrastructure have grown and contributed to a major selloff in technology stocks. The timing has complicated OpenAI's raise, and Anthropic's planned IPO could face challenges as well, according to the reporting.
The backdrop matters for US technology investors and employees alike, since OpenAI's ability to close a round at its earlier reported valuations had been viewed as a bellwether for private AI financing. The reduced target and the lower-than-expected first close suggest that even the sector's most prominent company is not immune to the caution now visible in public markets.
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