Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI cuts valuation target in $30 billion round
OpenAI was nearing a funding round of up to $30 billion after lowering the valuation it sought, while reports said the money would bridge the company towards a possible public listing.
- OpenAI was closing in on a new funding round of up to $30 billion.
- Internal documents obtained by the Financial Times showed the company's valuation target falling from $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion, and CNBC also reported the lower figure.
- The Financial Times said demand was weaker than in earlier rounds and that some backers were wary after earlier investments.
- UAE investors and Coatue were leading the round, which was being positioned as a bridge before a possible IPO.
- OpenAI had confidentially filed an IPO prospectus with the SEC in June, while Sarah Friar and Sam Altman gave different public signals about the timing of a listing.
OpenAI was closing in on a funding round of up to $30 billion and had lowered the valuation it was seeking. Internal documents obtained by the Financial Times put the target at $1.25 trillion, down from an earlier $1.4 trillion figure; CNBC also reported the lower number.
The Financial Times said the lower demand reflected weaker interest than in previous rounds. It reported that some existing backers were feeling wary after putting large sums into earlier fundraisings.
UAE investors and Coatue were leading the round. The funding was being presented as a bridge towards a possible initial public offering, and CNBC reported that OpenAI was also negotiating a commercial deal to secure more compute capacity through the UAE.
OpenAI confidentially filed an IPO prospectus with the SEC in June. In August, chief financial officer Sarah Friar told employees the company would be publicly traded by 2027, while chief executive Sam Altman said in September that the timing for going public was unfavourable; he had already conveyed that view internally in June.
Named in this story
People
- Sarah Friar
- told employees in August that OpenAI would be publicly traded by 2027
- Sam Altman
- said in September that the timing for an IPO was unfavourable
Companies
- OpenAI
- was seeking up to $30 billion in new funding and had lowered its target valuation
- Coatue
- was leading the $30 billion round
- Anthropic
- was said to be preparing an IPO with a target valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion
Governments and agencies
- United States Securities and Exchange Commission
- received OpenAI's confidential IPO prospectus filing in June
Places
- United Arab Emirates
- was the market through which OpenAI was negotiating additional compute capacity
How the source tells it
A mostly plain finance report, with only mild caution from sourced language about weaker demand and investor "indigestion".
No emotive framing was found in the original.