OpenAI has completed a new funding round totaling about $11 billion, which is the initial stage of a round valuing the company at $1.25 trillion. Bloomberg reports this, citing sources familiar with the situation, writes UNN.
Details
The funding was transferred by the company on Friday, November 6, sources said. The remainder of the round could bring the total to $20 billion, and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, one of the sources said.
The AI developer had been negotiating to raise a large amount of funding for more than a month after postponing plans for an initial public offering (IPO). OpenAI initially planned to raise $30 billion or more at a valuation of $1.4 trillion, Bloomberg reported, but later scaled back its plans amid a collapse in the public market for the AI sector.
According to the sources, investors that contributed to the first tranche of funding included Coatue Management and T. Rowe Price. Other investors in the round, according to the sources, included SoftBank Group Corp., Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz. As Bloomberg reported, a syndicate of investors from the United Arab Emirates also joined the round.
According to the sources, OpenAI is also working with investment banks to raise funds from wealthy private individuals and retail investors.
The reduction in funding targets marks a sharp shift in fundraising for the giant that helped launch the current AI boom. Sentiment toward AI has also changed dramatically since the round began, due to concerns about excessive spending on physical infrastructure for artificial intelligence and potential new obstacles to data center construction following the U.S. midterm elections.
What about Anthropic
Potential investors in a future IPO of OpenAI competitor Anthropic PBC are also reassessing the valuation of the maker of Claude. According to Bloomberg, potential buyers are discussing a valuation range of $1.2–$1.3 trillion for Anthropic, below the previously projected $1.5 trillion.
The last time OpenAI raised funds was in a $122 billion funding round in March, valuing the company at $852 billion.
AI giant Anthropic wants to transfer 5% of its shares to a "public benefit fund"19.10.26, 08:32