SAN FRANCISCO, United States — OpenAI is racing to secure investor commitments for a new funding round that could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.4 trillion, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the artificial intelligence pioneer tries to lock in capital before rival Anthropic's expected stock market debut in mid-November, Reuters reported on October 19, 2026.
Illustration: a giant glowing AI brain of circuits rising above gold coins and investment documents, symbolizing a trillion-dollar fundraising round.
What Happened
OpenAI is pushing to complete a fundraising of about $30 billion on an unusually fast timetable, one of the people said, with SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX, and other existing backers in talks to join the round. The rapid pace reflects, in part, a desire to get ahead of Anthropic as the two frontier AI laboratories increasingly draw on the same pool of investors, and to capitalize on OpenAI's recent revenue growth after launching new models.
OpenAI held meetings with long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds last week while Anthropic was hosting its own investor day, the people said. The round is expected to move faster than is typical for an offering of its size.
The company is pitching investors on growth that accelerated after the launch of its GPT-6 Astra model, saying it had reached $50 billion in annualized revenue and expecting that figure to rise to $70 billion by year-end, according to one of the people. OpenAI has also cut prices on its cheaper models, which it says has boosted usage, and told investors it can push AI model prices lower still.
Background
The fundraising race is unfolding against one of the most consequential capital competitions the technology industry has ever seen. Anthropic's annualized revenue reached roughly $65 billion by July, Reuters previously reported, and the company told investors its quarterly revenue jumped to $16.8 billion in the third quarter from $11.6 billion in the second. But slowing month-to-month revenue growth has raised concerns among investors about its valuation, and some existing and prospective Anthropic investors have argued for a valuation closer to $1.5 trillion for its market debut instead of the desired $2 trillion, Reuters reported last week.
OpenAI wants to complete its fundraising before Anthropic's financial disclosures give investors a fuller picture of its business and invite direct comparisons between the two companies, one person said. The disclosures could prompt investors to press OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar for more details about the company's revenue growth and financial outlook. The two companies also disagree on accounting: OpenAI records revenue on a net basis, subtracting partner shares upfront, and has accused Anthropic of inflating its revenue by counting the full, gross value of contracts sold through third-party cloud providers. Anthropic told Reuters earlier that it follows established accounting practices.
The contest for capital comes with the broader AI trade under strain. Companies in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, widely viewed as a proxy for AI-related semiconductor demand, have shed $1.6 trillion in less than two weeks, while AI infrastructure companies have come under particular pressure. Cloud provider CoreWeave saw its shares and debt tumble last week as investors scrutinized the nearly $50 billion in borrowings used to fund its rapid expansion. Several companies preparing to go public — including Blackstone-backed AirTrunk REIT, Nvidia-backed Firmus, and SoftBank-backed SB Energy — have pulled or paused their listings, and nuclear services company Holtec cited a "perfect storm," driven mainly by uncertainty around data-center demand, when it pulled its US listing last month.
OpenAI's own history of mega-rounds sets the stage: the company was last valued at $852 billion in March of this year after a record-breaking $122 billion funding round, including a commitment from Amazon.com, which agreed to invest up to $50 billion in the lab.
Illustration: two robotic horses racing on a rising stock-chart track, symbolizing the AI valuation race.
Why It Matters
At more than $1.4 trillion, OpenAI would rank among the most valuable private companies in history — and the round crystallizes a defining question of the AI era: whether the industry's explosive growth justifies the staggering sums being poured into computing infrastructure. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are pursuing trillion-dollar price tags, and both are tapping the same investor base, which is why the sequencing matters so much.
"OpenAI could want to set its own valuation and not have to worry about a comp (comparison)," said Edward Best, co-chair of capital markets at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who is not working on the deal and commented on a hypothetical basis. "It's really a two-horse race in terms of being public."
Investors familiar with the company say OpenAI also needs the capital to fund its substantial infrastructure commitments and to bolster its balance sheet if a deterioration in IPO markets further delays its planned 2027 listing. Though there is high demand for the shares of both companies, investors face the challenge of evaluating and allocating capital to two complex, competing offerings within days or weeks of each other — and some view OpenAI's push as an effort to lock in capital from funds that might otherwise devote more of their resources to Anthropic's IPO, the people said.
What Happens Next
All eyes are now on Anthropic's expected mid-November debut, which bankers say has become the bellwether for the entire autumn IPO calendar — a number of companies have already decided to wait until after the listing, wary of competing for investor demand amid market volatility and a pullback in AI stocks. Some late-stage companies are also timing private fundraising rounds to avoid coinciding with Anthropic's expected debut.
For OpenAI, the next test is whether it can close the roughly $30 billion round on its accelerated timetable and at a valuation that holds up once Anthropic's public-market pricing gives investors a hard comparison point. The company will also need to show that its price cuts and the GPT-6 Astra-driven growth can translate into the $70 billion annualized revenue figure it is projecting for year-end.
OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment. Anthropic and MGX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Financial Times previously reported some details of OpenAI's potential fundraising.
Illustration: a vast futuristic data center hall with glowing server racks and robotic arms at work.
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FAQ
How much is OpenAI trying to raise?
OpenAI is seeking to raise about $30 billion in a new funding round that could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.4 trillion, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. SoftBank, Abu Dhabi-based MGX, and other existing backers are reported to be in talks to join.
Why is OpenAI rushing the fundraising?
The company wants to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic's expected market debut in mid-November, so that it can set its own valuation without direct comparisons to Anthropic's public pricing — and to lock in capital from funds that might otherwise favor the Anthropic IPO.
What growth is OpenAI pitching to investors?
OpenAI says growth accelerated after the launch of its GPT-6 Astra model, reaching $50 billion in annualized revenue, and it expects that figure to rise to $70 billion by year-end. It has also cut prices on cheaper models, which it says has boosted usage.
How does Anthropic's revenue compare?
Anthropic's annualized revenue reached roughly $65 billion by July, and it told investors its quarterly revenue jumped to $16.8 billion in the third quarter from $11.6 billion in the second. Slowing month-to-month growth has, however, raised concerns about its valuation, with some investors arguing for about $1.5 trillion rather than the desired $2 trillion at debut.
What is OpenAI's planned stock market listing?
OpenAI is planning a public listing in 2027, though investors say the company also needs this capital to fund its infrastructure commitments and to strengthen its balance sheet if weak IPO markets delay that timeline.
Sources
- Reuters, October 19, 2026 — OpenAI seeks to accelerate fundraising ahead of Anthropic IPO, sources say ($30 billion round, $1.4 trillion valuation, GPT-6 Astra, $50 billion annualized revenue, Sarah Friar, Edward Best quote, $852 billion March valuation, Amazon $50 billion commitment).
- Reuters, October 2026 (previously reported) — Anthropic annualized revenue roughly $65 billion by July; third-quarter revenue $16.8 billion versus $11.6 billion in the second quarter.
- Reuters, October 2026 (reported last week) — Some Anthropic investors argued for a valuation closer to $1.5 trillion at debut instead of the desired $2 trillion.
- The Financial Times — previously reported some details of OpenAI's potential fundraising.
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