OpenAI raises 11 billion dollars more at 1.25 trillion valuation, falling short of 30 billion target

OpenAI closes 11 billion as round falls short

OpenAI has raised an additional $11 billion as part of a funding round that values the company at $1.25 trillion, Bloomberg reported on Friday citing sources familiar with the matter.

The round has not yet closed and could total about $20 billion according to a source who spoke to Bloomberg. But the current figures fall well short of the $30 billion target OpenAI had set when it reportedly began approaching investors in late September.

TechCrunch confirmed the report and noted that OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. The funding comes months after OpenAI completed a $30 billion round in October at the same $1.25 trillion valuation, meaning the additional $11 billion represents follow-on investment at flat pricing rather than an increase.

The reduced round size signals cooling investor appetite for even the most prominent AI companies, despite OpenAI being the most visible beneficiary of the AI investment boom. The company's ChatGPT product has reached hundreds of millions of monthly active users, its enterprise business has been expanding rapidly with the launch of ChatGPT Enterprise, Codex, and the Decisions API, and the company has been generating tens of billions in annualized revenue according to recent reports.

Market context: AI stocks and the midterm hangover

The OpenAI funding news arrived as the broader AI industry faces significant headwinds. The Democratic sweep in the 2026 midterm elections sent AI stocks into a tailspin this week, with the Nasdaq losing an estimated $2.5 trillion in value as investors priced in potential regulatory challenges, Reuters reported.

Voters in multiple states approved ballot measures regulating data center construction, energy use, and environmental impact — a direct challenge to the rapid infrastructure buildout that has underpinned the AI industry's growth. The Verge reported that 41 data center-related ballot measures were on the ballot this election, with most passing, reflecting a strong voter backlash against the energy-intensive expansion of AI computing infrastructure.

The midterm results have created what analysts describe as the most significant political challenge yet for the AI industry. Democrats are expected to pursue stricter AI regulation, expanded data center oversight, and potentially new taxes on AI companies. The market rout erased hundreds of billions from the market capitalizations of Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, and other AI beneficiaries.

The uncertainty extends beyond US borders. The Federal Reserve and European regulators have both signaled increasing scrutiny of AI-related financial risks. The broader technology selloff has affected everything from cloud computing stocks to semiconductor companies, creating a risk-off environment for new capital raises.

Anthropic's IPO valuation pressure

The OpenAI funding news came hours after Bloomberg also reported that potential buyers of shares in Anthropic's upcoming IPO are eyeing a substantially lower valuation than the company had targeted.

Bloomberg reported that some potential IPO buyers believe Anthropic's valuation could be as low as $1.1 trillion, compared with the roughly $2 trillion that investors were said to be expecting just a month ago. The sharp drop reflects the same market dynamics — the post-midterm AI rout has made investors more cautious about assigning sky-high valuations to AI companies.

Anthropic, the primary competitor to OpenAI, was widely expected to go public in what would be one of the largest technology IPOs in history, potentially surpassing even the largest tech listings. The company has been positioning for the offering since filing a confidential draft S-1 with the SEC. Sources told Bloomberg that the IPO could still happen as planned, but at a significantly lower valuation than originally hoped.

The convergence of the two stories — OpenAI raising less than expected and Anthropic's IPO valuation dropping — paints a stark picture of an AI funding environment that has cooled dramatically in a matter of weeks. The AI industry had been on an unprecedented fundraising spree throughout 2026, with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other labs raising tens of billions of dollars.

Who is funding OpenAI

The sources of OpenAI's latest funding were not disclosed in Bloomberg's report, but the company has historically relied on a mix of sovereign wealth funds, venture capital, and strategic investors. Microsoft has committed over $13 billion to OpenAI, though the relationship has become more complex as OpenAI has also partnered with Oracle for additional compute capacity.

Earlier rounds included investment from UAE-based technology investment firm MGX, SoftBank, Thrive Capital, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Coatue Management. The Wall Street Journal reported in October that SoftBank was considering an additional investment of up to $10 billion as part of the larger round that OpenAI had been pursuing.

The $11 billion figure suggests that investors remain willing to deploy substantial capital into AI — still one of the largest technology fundraises of the year — but at terms that reflect the more cautious market environment. The $1.25 trillion valuation, unchanged from the prior round, indicates that investors are unwilling to pay a premium for OpenAI shares until they see clearer evidence of sustained profitability and a regulatory framework that supports rather than restricts the company's growth.

What comes next for OpenAI

OpenAI has previously signaled plans to go public next year. President Greg Brockman told the Wall Street Journal in early November that the company aims to be IPO-ready by 2027, with enterprise revenue growth providing the foundation for a public listing.

CEO Sam Altman has described the company's financial trajectory as strong. OpenAI has been expanding its business across multiple fronts: launching GPT-6.1 Sol and Astra models, the Decisions API for automated task execution, ChatGPT advertising with 100,000 advertisers across 89 countries, and enterprise products including ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex Team. The company has also been investing heavily in safety research, publishing regular misalignment reports and partnering with third-party evaluators.

The $11 billion raise gives OpenAI additional runway to continue its expensive compute buildout. The company has committed tens of billions of dollars to cloud computing partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle, and potentially SoftBank. It continues to train increasingly large frontier models that require massive GPU clusters. The company also faces escalating costs from safety research, alignment efforts, and regulatory compliance.

However, the reduced round size may constrain some of OpenAI's more ambitious plans. A $30 billion round would have given the company significantly more flexibility for acquisitions, infrastructure investments, and the compute partnership with SoftBank that Altman has reportedly been pursuing. The company's path to an IPO now faces the additional challenge of convincing public market investors to value it at the same level private investors were willing to accept just weeks ago.