By cryptoadmin OpenAI is nearing a funding round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, as the artificial intelligence company prepares for a potential initial public offering, according to CNBC.
Investors from the United Arab Emirates and investment firm Coatue are leading the round, according to people familiar with the discussions. The reported valuation excludes the new capital, which would bring OpenAI’s total valuation to as much as $1.28 trillion.
The financing is being positioned as a bridge to a potential IPO. OpenAI told investors Thursday that it aims to secure signatures by the end of next week, although the final size of the round remains undecided.
Discussions began in September after investors approached OpenAI with proposals for additional financing.
Alongside the investment, OpenAI is reportedly negotiating a commercial agreement to secure additional computing capacity from the UAE. The company previously told investors it expects to spend approximately $600 billion on computing infrastructure by 2030.
OpenAI targets 2027 public listing
The funding discussions follow OpenAI’s confidential IPO filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told employees in August that the company expects to go public in 2027. However, CEO Sam Altman expressed caution the following month, saying that current market conditions made an immediate listing inadvisable.
The potential offering comes as OpenAI faces growing competition from Anthropic, which is also preparing to enter public markets.
Anthropic confidentially filed its IPO prospectus in June and has since held meetings with prospective investors. The company is reportedly seeking a valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, according to Reuters.
In May, Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation, highlighting the scale of investor funding flowing into leading AI developers.
Both companies are pursuing public listings while committing hundreds of billions of dollars to computing infrastructure, as demand for advanced AI models continues to drive investment in data centers and cloud capacity.