OpenAI repotedly in talks to raise $30B round at $1.4T valuation

OpenAI is in discussions with investors to raise at least $30 billion in a pre-initial public offering funding round, according to a Bloomberg report cited by TechCrunch. The ChatGPT maker would carry a valuation of roughly $1.4 trillion if the round closes. The talks reflect continued investor appetite for the company ahead of an anticipated public market debut.

The reported fundraising comes as OpenAI's business has accelerated. A renewed strategic focus on areas such as coding has driven a 70 percent increase in run-rate revenue since July, reaching $40 billion in August, according to the report. That growth followed a stretch earlier in the year when rival Anthropic briefly surpassed OpenAI.

OpenAI last raised capital in March, pulling in $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation. That round was intended to be the company's final private raise before going public, and an IPO had until recently been expected this year. CEO Sam Altman has since ruled out a public debut in 2026, saying AI safety should come first.

Altman told Fortune that he considers it unacceptable to accept roughly a 10 percent chance of killing everybody by the end of the decade. His comment came in response to warnings from safety researchers that AI poses an existential risk to humanity. The stance has shifted the timeline investors had been working from.

According to Bloomberg, the new fundraising would function as a bridge round leading up to the IPO. No terms beyond the reported size and valuation have been disclosed, and the talks may not result in a completed deal. OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the discussions.

The size of the prospective round underscores how much private capital remains available to the leading US AI developer even as it stays out of public markets. For American investors and technology firms tracking the sector, the reported valuation would place OpenAI among the most valuable companies in the world. The outcome will also shape expectations for other AI startups weighing their own paths to a listing.

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