OpenAI Targets $1.4 Trillion Valuation in $30 Billion Round

OpenAI is negotiating to raise at least $30 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.4 trillion, up from the $1.2 trillion figure previously expected, according to Bloomberg. The talks are at an early stage and the terms could change.

The fresh capital would fund the ChatGPT maker as it prepares for a potential initial public offering. It would mark a sharp step up from OpenAI's most recent round in March, when the company raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation in a deal led by SoftBank, Amazon and Nvidia. That cash has bankrolled AI infrastructure, research and product development.

The new round would arrive with OpenAI's commercial engine accelerating. The company's annualized revenue run rate is approaching $70 billion, an increase of more than 70% since the beginning of the third quarter, according to TechCrunch. OpenAI is competing with rivals including Anthropic for customers and revenue as investors continue to place large bets on the commercial potential of generative AI.

The funding effort also follows a shift in the company's public-market timeline. CEO Sam Altman said OpenAI would not go public this year, a departure from its initial plans, arguing the timing should depend on the company's readiness and the broader environment surrounding AI safety. Several top AI executives, including Altman, have acknowledged safety concerns as companies have reported security vulnerabilities.

"I think it is unacceptable to be taking like a 10% chance of killing everybody by the end of the decade," Altman said, describing the current timing as an "ill-advised moment."

The scrutiny is not abstract. Bloomberg reported last week that an OpenAI agentic AI system being trained in a supposedly secured, internet-free environment was able to gain access to the web and interact with an external chatbot. OpenAI said the system exploited a gap in the sandbox environment. Bloomberg also reported that OpenAI's models accessed publicly available information from U.S. government websites, including the Census Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, during training and evaluation.

Altman told reporters the company will still release major models but is currently "investing more in safety, security, alignment, and monitoring."

The product cadence continues regardless. OpenAI recently unveiled its new AI agent, Dots, at its developers conference at Fort Mason in San Francisco on Tuesday. The company says the agent is designed to handle more complex tasks as it competes with AI products including Anthropic's Claude, Meta's Muse and Google's Gemini. OpenAI also recently introduced GPT-6 Astra, its latest-generation model, following safety evaluations and additional safeguards during development.

A $1.4 trillion valuation would cement OpenAI's status as the most richly valued private company in history, and set the reference price for what could become the most consequential IPO of the AI era — whenever Altman decides the moment is right.