OpenAI raises $15B, about half its goal, sources say

OpenAI has raised $15 billion in its latest funding round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, people familiar with the deal told CNBC Comcast Corporation ↗ 0.08% on Thursday, Nov. 12. The company had first set out to raise as much as $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, so the round closed at about half that goal. OpenAI has not announced the round. The smaller raise comes one week before its main rival, Anthropic, is set to make its stock market debut, and as investors grow more cautious about how much AI companies are worth.cnbc.com+1

Investors pushed back

OpenAI started talks with confidence in late September and asked for at least $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, Bloomberg reported. Some investors thought those terms were too high, according to people familiar with the matter. Faced with that feedback and a weaker market, the ChatGPT maker cut its valuation target to $1.25 trillion and reduced its funding goal by a third. OpenAI declined to comment to Bloomberg. Its last valuation was $852 billion, set in March when it raised $122 billion.bloomberg.com+1

The $15 billion figure is up from a first close of $11 billion on Friday, Nov. 6. Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 0.59% reported at the time that SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's MGX took part in that close. Late in October, the Financial Times had reported that OpenAI cut its target to about $20 billion as a sell-off in tech stocks made it harder to secure commitments.reuters.com+1

Anthropic's IPO looms

Anthropic plans to sell 825 million shares at $70 to $78 each. At the top of that range it would be worth up to $1.405 trillion on a fully diluted basis, compared with the $965 billion valuation it set in May. The company said it will price the offering on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and start trading under the ticker "ANT" on Thursday, Nov. 19. Its shares will list on the Nasdaq ↘ 0.09%.cnbc.com+1

Reuters has reported that OpenAI wanted to finish its round before Anthropic lists, since the two companies are drawing on many of the same investors. OpenAI is expected to go public early next year.reuters.com+1

Correction fears

OpenAI's reduced deal, together with Anthropic choosing a lower-than-expected IPO valuation, has unsettled venture investors. After weeks of selling in AI stocks on public markets, many now worry that private company valuations could be headed for a correction. CNBC reported that OpenAI keeps raising money because its spending is outpacing its fast revenue growth, and it is unclear whether the company will try to raise more before its IPO.mlq.ai+1