According to a Reuters report on October 19, OpenAI is pushing forward with a financing round of about $30 billion, targeting a valuation of more than $1.4 trillion. The parties in negotiations include SoftBank, Abu Dhabi sovereign investment firm MGX, and existing shareholders, though the specific amount and the list of investors have not yet been finalized.
This comes just seven months after OpenAI's previous funding round. In March this year, the company completed a $122 billion financing at an $852 billion valuation. If the new round closes, the valuation would rise by more than 64% again.
GPT-6 Astra Is at the Heart of This Round's Narrative
OpenAI disclosed to potential investors that, with GPT-6 Astra live, the company's annualized revenue has reached $50 billion, and it expects that to rise to $70 billion by the end of 2026. This figure is annualized on the basis of current operating activity, not booked sales for a full fiscal year.
At a $1.4 trillion valuation and $50 billion in annualized revenue, the price-to-sales ratio is about 28x. On the $70 billion projection, the multiple is still about 20x.
Competitor Anthropic posted $16.8 billion in revenue for the third quarter alone, up 46% quarter over quarter, or roughly $65 billion annualized — in the same order of magnitude as OpenAI's claimed figure.
The Real Reason for the Accelerated Fundraising: A Valuation Vacuum Before Anthropic's Listing
OpenAI is accelerating its fundraising now. Anthropic filed a confidential draft registration statement (S-1) with the U.S. SEC on June 1 this year, and its Nasdaq listing window is around mid-November 2026.
The two companies share a heavily overlapping investor pool. Once Anthropic sets a public price first, it will become the AI industry's first valuation anchor formed through public market bargaining. If Anthropic's IPO prices below expectations, it would exert downward reference pressure on OpenAI's private valuation.
OpenAI's strategy is to lock in a $1.4 trillion valuation through private channels before Anthropic goes public.
The Capital Pressure on the Two Companies Is Not Symmetrical
Anthropic disclosed in its S-1 about $518 billion in future compute purchase obligations. That means its IPO proceeds will largely go toward servicing capital commitments already locked in.
OpenAI's compute spending by 2030 is projected to reach as much as $600 billion. Both companies are burning through and raising capital at a pace far beyond normal corporate rhythms; the difference is that Anthropic has chosen the public market, while OpenAI currently still favors private markets.
The private route gives OpenAI greater flexibility in controlling the pace of information disclosure. OpenAI plans to consider a listing in 2027 or later.
64% in Seven Months: Bubble or Fundamentals?
The valuation's jump from $852 billion to $1.4 trillion is underpinned mainly by rapid revenue growth. At the time of the March financing, OpenAI's annualized revenue was in the $30–40 billion range; seven months later, the company says it has reached $50 billion and expects $70 billion by year-end.
If the $70 billion target is met, the $1.4 trillion valuation corresponds to a price-to-sales ratio of about 20x. Two conditions must hold at the same time: first, the quality of revenue growth — how much of the $50 billion comes from renewable enterprise contracts; second, the cost side — whether the scissors gap between compute consumption and revenue can narrow.
OpenAI's current disclosures to investors are not sufficient.
Capital Transmission Effects Across the AI Industry
If this round closes, it will have direct effects: it will establish a new private-market valuation benchmark, lifting the financing multiples of mid-sized AI companies that follow; the participation of SoftBank and MGX means Middle Eastern and Japanese sovereign capital have become structural buyers of AI infrastructure investment; and two frontier labs raising capital at the hundred-billion-dollar scale at the same time will make it harder for the market to provide comparable capital support to third-tier players.
Capital is accelerating toward the top: from under $1 trillion to $1.4 trillion in just seven months, with a competitor's impending IPO as the catalyst.
The Cost of the Lock-In Window
By completing the financing before Anthropic's listing, OpenAI locks in a $1.4 trillion valuation. If Anthropic's post-IPO valuation comes in below expectations, OpenAI's current pricing will look solid; if Anthropic opens at a higher valuation, OpenAI's private investors still enjoy a liquidity premium.
Private-market valuation stability depends on market sentiment at the next funding round or at listing. If the AI industry's overall growth slows by the time OpenAI prepares to go public in 2027, today's $1.4 trillion entry cost will become the price at which investors are stuck.
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