OpenAI Nears $30 Billion Funding Round as UAE Investors Back $1.25 Trillion Valuation

OpenAI is nearing a funding round that could raise up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, as investors from the United Arab Emirates and investment firm Coatue lead a financing effort ahead of a potential stock market debut.

The proposed deal would value the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company at $1.25 trillion before including the new investment, according to people familiar with the negotiations cited by CNBC. If OpenAI raises the full amount on those terms, its valuation after the financing would reach approximately $1.28 trillion.

The round remains under negotiation, and its final size has not been determined. OpenAI told investors Thursday that it aims to secure signatures by the end of next week, CNBC reported. That timetable concerns investor commitments and does not establish when the transaction would close.

The financing is being presented to prospective investors as an "opportunistic" bridge before a possible initial public offering. It would provide additional private capital while OpenAI continues preparing for a public listing whose precise timing remains undisclosed.

Discussions began after investors approached the company with funding proposals in September, according to the outlet's earlier reporting. The latest negotiations would put a trillion-dollar valuation within reach through another private transaction rather than requiring OpenAI to establish that price through an IPO.

The UAE's involvement also extends beyond the proposed equity investment. Alongside the fundraising, OpenAI is negotiating a commercial agreement to obtain additional computing capacity from the country, CNBC noted.

The two negotiations address the money needed to support the company's expansion and the necessary access to the infrastructure required to develop and operate its AI systems. CNBC's report did not identify the individual UAE investors leading the financing or disclose the proposed computing agreement's financial terms.

OpenAI told investors in February that it was targeting roughly $600 billion in total computing spending by 2030. A $30 billion financing would equal about 5% of that projected expenditure, illustrating the scale of the company's infrastructure ambitions.

Meanwhile, OpenAI's preparations for an IPO have advanced beyond preliminary discussions. The company confidentially submitted its prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission in June.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told employees in August that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027." Chief Executive Sam Altman struck a more cautious note the following month, saying "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public."

OpenAI's fundraising also comes as rival Anthropic pursues its own potential public offering. The company confidentially filed its prospectus in June and has been meeting prospective investors, according to CNBC. Anthropic is reportedly seeking an IPO valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, following a $65 billion private funding round in May that valued it at $965 billion.