OpenAI plans to raise up to $30 billion more before IPO, valuation target lowered to $1.25 trillion

Smart Things October 23 news, according to TechCrunch, today, OpenAI is planning to complete another round of financing of up to $30 billion (about RMB 201.6 billion) before its initial public offering (IPO), with a pre-money target valuation of $1.25 trillion (about RMB 8.4 trillion), a downward revision from the target valuation of about $1.4 trillion (about RMB 9.41 trillion) disclosed in September. This round of financing will be co-led by US investment firm Coatue and Emirati investors.

The financing negotiations may also involve computing power cooperation between OpenAI and the UAE.

According to CNBC, today, OpenAI is discussing a commercial agreement with the UAE side, planning to obtain more local computing power resources.

At present, the specific terms of the financing are still under negotiation, and the final financing scale and valuation may both change. OpenAI has not yet commented on this.

1. Valuation target cut by RMB 1.01 trillion; Emirati investors may be linked to computing power cooperation

According to a Bloomberg report on September 29, OpenAI at that time sought to raise at least $30 billion (about RMB 201.6 billion) at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion (about RMB 9.41 trillion).

▲Bloomberg report on September 29, image source: Bloomberg

Compared with the previous target, the pre-money valuation of OpenAI's latest proposed financing has been cut by $150 billion (about RMB 1.01 trillion).

According to CNBC, today, in addition to capital investment, OpenAI is also discussing a commercial agreement with the UAE side and may obtain more computing power resources through related arrangements. If the negotiations are reached, financing and computing power cooperation may advance in parallel.

OpenAI and the UAE have previously cooperated on computing power infrastructure.

On May 22, 2025, OpenAI announced the launch of the Stargate UAE project, the first international deployment of its Stargate AI infrastructure platform.

According to an announcement released by OpenAI, the project is to be built by Emirati technology company G42, operated by OpenAI and Oracle, with Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank also participating.

▲OpenAI announced the launch of the Stargate UAE project in May 2025, image source: OpenAI official website

Emirati investors have also previously participated in OpenAI's financing negotiations.

Bloomberg reported on October 5 that OpenAI is in talks with multiple Emirati investment funds, including Abu Dhabi investment institution MGX, on financing, and the relevant funds had discussed a plan to invest up to $10 billion (about RMB 67.2 billion) in total.

▲OpenAI is in talks with Emirati investment funds on a new round of financing, image source: Bloomberg

If this round of financing and the computing power arrangements are implemented simultaneously, cooperation between OpenAI and the UAE will further expand beyond existing computing power infrastructure projects.

2. IPO preparation proceeds in parallel with large-scale financing; post-money valuation reached RMB 5.73 trillion in March

OpenAI confidentially submitted IPO-related documents in June this year to prepare for a future listing.

▲OpenAI announced the submission of the draft on June 8, image source: OpenAI

On March 31 this year, OpenAI announced on its official website the completion of a round of financing, obtaining $122 billion (about RMB 819.84 billion) in committed capital, with a post-money valuation reaching $852 billion (about RMB 5.73 trillion).

▲OpenAI official website financing announcement on March 31, image source: OpenAI

OpenAI's official website announcement said that the round of financing was participated in by strategic partners such as Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, and Microsoft also continued to invest.

Among them, securing stable access to computing power resources was listed as an important part of its long-term development strategy. OpenAI said that computing power helps advance research, improve products, expand service coverage, and reduce the cost of delivery at scale.

According to CNBC news on October 22, Anthropic is also targeting an IPO valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion (about RMB 10.08 trillion to RMB 13.44 trillion).

On May 28 this year, Anthropic's official website announced the completion of a $65 billion (about RMB 436.8 billion) Series H financing, with a post-money valuation reaching $965 billion (about RMB 6.48 trillion).

▲Anthropic announced the completion of financing on May 28, image source: Anthropic

▲Anthropic announced the submission of the draft on June 1, image source: Anthropic

Both OpenAI and Anthropic are advancing listing preparations and seeking to further consolidate their capital base before going public.

Conclusion: OpenAI seeks financing again, AI capital competition extends to IPO

OpenAI continues to seek large-scale financing before its IPO, driven by a sustained need for capital.

As financing negotiations progress, how funds and computing power resources are allocated will also affect the pace of its subsequent development.

Source: TechCrunch