OpenAI Targets $1.4 Trillion Valuation in Monumental $30B Fundraising Effort

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is reportedly in preliminary discussions to secure no less than $30 billion in a fresh pre-IPO funding round. This would potentially value the company at an astounding $1.4 trillion. If realized, this valuation would rank OpenAI among the most valuable private companies in history, as per a recent Bloomberg report.

The purpose of this round is to function as a bridge financing tool, offering a capital buffer in lieu of an IPO that CEO Sam Altman has definitively postponed until 2026. Altman’s decision is driven by the necessity to focus on AI safety and address alignment issues, which he cites as primary reasons for delaying the public launch. The round’s demand is reportedly driven by enthusiastic investors, spurred by OpenAI’s impressive revenue growth — the firm’s annualized run-rate revenue has soared 70% since July, hitting roughly $40 billion in August 2026.

This funding round would mark a significant leap from OpenAI’s previous major fundraising effort — a $122 billion round concluded in March 2026 with a post-money valuation of $852 billion, backed by key investors like SoftBank, Amazon, and NVIDIA. The proposed $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation would also outstrip competitor Anthropic’s current private market valuation of $965 billion. While discussions are still in the early stages and terms may yet change, the sheer magnitude of the potential round underscores the rapidly intensifying AI funding competition.

Source: TechCrunch | U.S. News / Reuters