OpenAI Chases $30 Billion as Safety Pushes Its IPO Further Away
OpenAI Chases $30 Billion as Safety Pushes Its IPO Further Away
OpenAI is reportedly back in the market for a vast pre-IPO financing round, seeking at least $30 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.4 trillion. The proposed deal would give investors another chance to fund the ChatGPT maker before its eventual public debut.
The timing marks a sharp turn from earlier expectations. In March, OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation, a round that had been expected to be its last major private financing before an IPO anticipated this year. Instead, the company is now said to be pursuing a bridge round after chief executive Sam Altman ruled out a 2026 listing.
For investors, the case rests on renewed commercial momentum. After Anthropic briefly moved ahead at the beginning of the year, OpenAI’s refocus on areas including coding reportedly helped lift run-rate revenue 70% since July, to $40 billion in August. That growth helps explain the appetite for another enormous private raise, even at a valuation more than half a trillion dollars above March’s mark.
Altman, however, has framed the delay as more than a financing calculation. Responding to warnings from AI safety researchers about existential risks, he said: “I think it is unacceptable to be taking like a 10% chance of killing everybody by the end of the decade.”
The tension is stark: investors are eager for a public-market prize, while OpenAI’s leader argues that safety must come first. The reported funding round would attempt to satisfy both sides—keeping capital flowing while postponing the IPO clock. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
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