OpenAI seeks $30 billion at over $1.4 trillion valuation ahead of Anthropic IPO

OpenAI is accelerating a funding round of about $30 billion at a valuation of more than $1.4 trillion, moving ahead of Anthropic's initial public offering, which is scheduled for the middle of next month, according to aitimes.com.

Existing investors SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's MGX are discussing participation in the round. OpenAI met with long-term investment funds and sovereign wealth funds last week, while Anthropic held investor presentations for its listing around the same period.

OpenAI told investors that annual recurring revenue reached $50 billion following the launch of GPT-6 Astra and is expected to reach $70 billion by year-end. The company also said usage rose after it cut prices on low-cost models, and that it could lower model prices further.

The two companies' fundraising efforts come amid wider questions about AI valuations. Anthropic reported third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion, up about 45% from $11.6 billion in the previous quarter, and some investors have argued its IPO valuation should be lowered to about $1.5 trillion from the $2 trillion originally discussed.

In March, OpenAI raised $122 billion at a valuation of $852 billion. Rising interest rates, volatility in tech stocks and the debt burdens of AI data centers have weighed on investor sentiment, with CoreWeave's $50 billion borrowing drawing attention recently. Anthropic says it follows established accounting practices, while OpenAI says Anthropic's method inflates revenue.