OpenAI's reported $30B raise explained: what we know so far

OpenAI is reportedly trying to raise up to $30 billion from investors, valuing the company at $1.25 trillion before the new money goes in. The reports are unconfirmed, and OpenAI has declined to comment.

According to TechCrunch, OpenAI is working on the new raise ahead of a possible IPO. An IPO, or initial public offering, is when a company first sells shares to the public on a stock market.

The figures come from sources who spoke to CNBC. "Pre-money" means the company's value before the new investment is added.

CNBC's sources say:

The numbers have shifted before. A month earlier, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was seeking $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation. The terms are still being negotiated, so the details could change.

At more than $1 trillion, OpenAI would be the highest-valued private company ever.

For context, OpenAI's March raise valued it at $852 billion post-money, meaning after the new investment was counted. OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO in June.

Its rival Anthropic is on a similar path. It raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in May and also filed confidentially for an IPO in June. CNBC reports that Anthropic is seeking $1.5 to $2 trillion for its debut.

The reports say nothing about ChatGPT prices, features or access, so nothing is known yet about any effect on everyday users.

What the reports do show is how much money is moving around the companies behind the AI tools you may use. The possible link between the UAE investment and extra computing capacity is notable, since computing power is what AI models run on. Whether that would change what you can do with OpenAI's products has not been reported.

The raise has not been confirmed, and the terms are still under negotiation. The final valuation, the size of the round and the investors could all differ from what has been reported. OpenAI has not commented, and its IPO filing was made confidentially, so no public timeline has been given.