OpenAI is going back to private investors instead of public markets. The ChatGPT maker is seeking at least $30 billion in new funding at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion, excluding the new money, according to a Bloomberg report published September 29 and since confirmed by Semafor and other outlets.
The round would be a bridge to an initial public offering now expected in 2027, after OpenAI dropped plans to list this year. At $1.4 trillion, it would also return OpenAI to the top of AI's private-market rankings, above rival Anthropic's most recent valuation.
From $852 Billion to $1.4 Trillion in Six Months
The step up is large. In March 2026, OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation, a round widely described then as its last private financing before going public. The new target implies a valuation increase of more than 60% in about six months.
Revenue growth is the reason given. Bloomberg reports that a strategic refocus on areas such as coding drove a 70% jump in run-rate revenue since July, to about $40 billion in August. Business revenue has been the main driver, helped by enterprise demand for coding agents and API access.
Key figures at a glance:
- Target raise: at least $30 billion
- Target valuation: about $1.4 trillion, pre-money
- Previous round: $122 billion at $852 billion in March 2026
- Run-rate revenue: about $40 billion in August, up 70% since July
- IPO timing: pushed to 2027
No investors have been publicly named for the new round.
Why the IPO Moved
According to The AI Insider, CEO Sam Altman has ruled out a 2026 listing and said safety comes first. That stance is credible given recent events. Days before the funding news, OpenAI cancelled the launch of its next flagship model, GPT-6.1 Astra, after it failed internal safety tests. The company has also faced an agent-related security incident and new regulatory scrutiny.
Market conditions matter as well. Semafor notes that what looked like a strong year-end IPO window is stalling. Smart-ring maker Oura and SoftBank-backed data-centre firm SB Energy have both delayed listings, and AI cloud provider Nscale is expected to push back its investor roadshow. A record-sized OpenAI offering in a nervous market would be a risky first test of public investors' appetite.
Anthropic Takes the Opposite Path
OpenAI's main rival is going the other way. Anthropic is still pursuing an IPO this year. Its confidential prospectus, as described by Tech Startups, reportedly targets a valuation around $2 trillion and includes unusually direct risk disclosures, among them language about catastrophic or existential risks from AI and warnings that rogue agents create uncertain legal liability. The two strategies are now a live test: whether the market rewards Anthropic for listing first, or OpenAI for waiting until conditions improve.
Why It Matters
The round says three things about the AI economy.
First, private capital is still the cheapest fuel for frontier labs. Startups raised about $510 billion in the first half of 2026, and OpenAI and Anthropic took roughly 43% of it. A $30 billion bridge is large by any normal standard but modest next to OpenAI's compute commitments. The pace of mega-deals has not slowed elsewhere either: in early September, Nvidia agreed to pay $12.9 billion for Hugging Face, Mistral raised €3 billion, and Cognition raised $2 billion at a $48 billion valuation, while inference cloud Modal Labs is reportedly close to a $750 million round.
Second, revenue is starting to support the valuations. A run-rate in the tens of billions, growing 70% in a quarter, is what gives investors confidence to price a company with heavy losses at more than a trillion dollars.
Third, the IPO window is shaping strategy. When public markets wobble, the largest AI companies can simply stay private longer, delaying the moment when retail investors and public-market discipline reach the sector.
What to Watch
The final size, investor list and terms will show how deep demand for OpenAI exposure really is, particularly whether sovereign funds and strategic partners lead again. Investors will also watch whether OpenAI's growth holds up once the safety delays and the new always-on dots agents, launched at DevDay this week, feed into revenue. Then there is Anthropic's listing: a strong debut could pressure OpenAI to move up its own timetable.
