OpenAI's fundraising has been reported in three different shapes over October. The valuation OpenAI was said to be seeking fell from about $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion. A report published on 31 October says the amount it is aiming to raise has dropped too.

Most of the figures below come from unnamed people cited by news outlets. According to Wealth Professional, OpenAI declined to comment to Bloomberg and the Financial Times. TechCrunch said on 22 October that OpenAI declined comment. This is a story about reported negotiations, not an announced deal.

The reported sequence

San Francisco skyline
San Francisco, where OpenAI is based.
  • Early October: investingLive, summarising Bloomberg, said OpenAI was looking to raise at least $30 billion at a pre-money valuation of about $1.4 trillion. It said Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was presenting the valuation to prospective investors as a fixed price before choosing a lead investor.
  • 19 October: Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, that the round could value OpenAI at over $1.4 trillion; one of the people put the round at about $30 billion.
  • 22 October: CNBC reported that OpenAI was raising up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, according to people familiar with the deal. It said the figure does not include the new capital. TechCrunch, writing the same day, said terms were still being negotiated and could change.
  • 26 October: Wealth Professional reported that the cut followed resistance from some investors, according to the FT, citing people with knowledge of the matter. It said Bloomberg put the shift at $150 billion. The FT said prospective investors had until 30 October to commit and that OpenAI might raise less than $30 billion depending on interest.
  • Friday 30 October: TechCrunch, on 31 October, said the FT had reported that OpenAI had lowered its funding target to $20 billion, with a first close expected to be even lower. The FT said the round would be led by a group of UAE investors, and that a later retail offering for wealthy individuals could bring the total to the $20 billion target.

TechCrunch added that a follow-up Wall Street Journal story said OpenAI had secured $11 billion so far, and that its fundraising had met with a "tepid" response from some large investors.

What the pushback looked like

Wealth Professional said the FT reported, citing documents it had seen, that Morgan Stanley and the fund Dragoneer had offered OpenAI to the bank's private-wealth clients at a $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation. People with knowledge of that process told the FT that client demand was weaker than in earlier rounds, and that some investors had already invested heavily in prior raises.

For scale, Reuters reported that OpenAI was last valued at $852 billion in March, after a $122 billion round. The FT, per Wealth Professional, said $1.25 trillion would be almost 50 percent more than that. investingLive worked out that adding $30 billion of new capital would put the post-money valuation at around $1.28 trillion.

Abu Dhabi skyline
Abu Dhabi, where MGX, one of OpenAI's reported backers, is based.

CNBC reported that investors from the United Arab Emirates were leading the round alongside Coatue. Reuters reported that SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and other existing backers were in talks to join. Wealth Professional said Bloomberg reported talks with BlackRock.

CNBC also reported, citing one person, that OpenAI was negotiating a commercial deal to secure more computing capacity from the UAE.

The Anthropic clock

Reuters reported that OpenAI was racing to secure commitments before rival Anthropic's expected public debut in mid-November. The two companies are increasingly tapping a similar investor base, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, and some investors see OpenAI's push as an effort to lock in capital that might otherwise go to Anthropic's IPO.

CNBC said Anthropic is reportedly seeking a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. Reuters said some existing and prospective Anthropic investors argued for a figure closer to $1.5 trillion after its third-quarter results fell short of expectations.

Edward Best, described by Reuters as co-chair of capital markets at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, told the agency: "It's really a two-horse race in terms of being public." Reuters said he is not working on the deal and spoke on a hypothetical basis.

OpenAI's pitch to investors

Reuters reported, citing one person, that OpenAI is telling investors it reached $50 billion in annualised revenue after launching its GPT-6 Astra model and expects $70 billion by year-end. These are OpenAI's own figures, relayed secondhand. Reuters added that OpenAI has cut prices on its cheaper models, which it said has boosted usage.

The market it is raising into

Reuters reported on 19 October that companies in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had shed $1.6 trillion in less than two weeks. It also reported that CoreWeave's shares and debt fell as investors scrutinised its nearly $50 billion in borrowings. TechCrunch, on 31 October, suggested the reported funding difficulties could be blamed in part on bad timing, with Wall Street wary of heavy AI infrastructure spending.

CNBC reported that OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June. The month after CFO Sarah Friar told employees in August that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027," CNBC said, CEO Sam Altman said that "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public."

What to make of it

investingLive framed the open question as whether the lower valuation reflects investors pushing back on price or a deliberate trade of valuation for speed and certainty. It left that question open, though the FT, per Wealth Professional, said the cut followed resistance from some investors.

My view is that none of these numbers is yet the one that matters. The $1.4 trillion, the $1.25 trillion and the $20 billion are all reported targets. The figure to watch is whatever OpenAI and its investors actually sign.

Sources

CNBC (2026) 'OpenAI nears up to $30 billion funding round at $1.25 trillion valuation led by UAE investors', CNBC, 22 October 2026, available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/22/openai-funding-round-uae-investors.html (Accessed: 1 November 2026).

Ha, A. (2026) 'OpenAI reportedly lowers funding target for new round', TechCrunch, 31 October 2026, available at: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/31/openai-reportedly-lowers-funding-target-for-new-round/ (Accessed: 1 November 2026).

Bort, J. (2026) 'OpenAI working on new $30B raise at $1.25T valuation ahead of IPO', TechCrunch, 22 October 2026, available at: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/22/openai-working-on-new-30b-raise-at-1-25t-valuation-ahead-of-ipo/ (Accessed: 1 November 2026).

Gonzales, F. (2026) 'OpenAI trims valuation target to US$1.25 trillion after investor pushback', Wealth Professional, 26 October 2026, available at: https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/investments/equity-markets/openai-trims-valuation-target-to-us125-trillion-after-investor-pushback/393861 (Accessed: 1 November 2026).

Sheridan, E. (2026) 'OpenAI close to raising up to $30 billion at $1.25 trillion valuation, UAE investors lead', investingLive, 22 October 2026, available at: https://investinglive.com/stocks/openai-close-to-raising-up-to-30-billion-at-1-25-trillion-valuation-uae-investors-lead/ (Accessed: 1 November 2026).

Wang, E., Hu, K. and Valle, S. (2026) 'Exclusive-OpenAI seeks to accelerate fundraising ahead of Anthropic IPO, sources say', Reuters, 19 October 2026, available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/openai-seeks-accelerate-fundraising-ahead-anthropic-ipo-sources-say-2026-10-19/ (Accessed: 1 November 2026).

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