OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise $30B round at $1.4T valuation | TechCrunch
Short summary
OpenAI is raising at least $30 billion in a pre-IPO round that values the company at roughly $1.4 trillion, with a public debut now pushed to 2027. CEO Sam Altman delayed the IPO to focus on AI safety concerns, citing unacceptable existential risks.
- OpenAI's run-rate revenue jumped 70% since July, hitting $40 billion in August, driven by focus on coding capabilities
- The company previously raised $122 billion in March at an $852 billion valuation, but that round was supposed to be the last before going public
- Sam Altman explicitly ruled out a 2026 IPO, stating he won't accept a 10% chance of "killing everybody by the end of the decade"
Full summary
OpenAI is raising at least $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, according to Bloomberg. This is a bridge round before the company goes public next year. The March funding round at $852 billion was supposed to be the last private raise, but CEO Sam Altman has delayed the IPO to focus on AI safety concerns. The company's run-rate revenue jumped 70% since July and hit $40 billion in August, driven by a strategic shift toward coding capabilities.
Altman explicitly ruled out going public in 2026, citing existential risk from AI as his reason. He told Fortune that accepting even a 10% chance of killing everyone by decade's end is unacceptable. This safety-first stance marks a notable pivot from the company's previous IPO timeline and suggests internal pressure to address researcher warnings about AI risks before facing public market scrutiny.
Investors remain eager to fund OpenAI despite the delayed exit. While Anthropic briefly overtook OpenAI earlier this year, OpenAI's revenue acceleration and strategic refocus have reasserted its market position. The new round will effectively hold investor capital in place until the company decides it's ready for the public markets. OpenAI hasn't commented on the funding talks.