OpenAI is accelerating plans to raise about $30 billion before rival Anthropic’s expected stock market debut in November.
The fundraising could value the ChatGPT developer at more than $1.4 trillion, Reuters reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plans. That compares with its $852 billion valuation in March.
Both companies are reporting extraordinary revenue growth, but investors are becoming more selective about the prices they will pay.
Anthropic’s approaching IPO threatens to give them something OpenAI would rather avoid for now: a public comparison.
OpenAI wants to establish its price first
OpenAI has approached long-term investment funds and sovereign wealth investors as Anthropic prepares for a possible mid-November listing, Reuters reported.
Existing backers, including SoftBank and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, are discussing participation, though commitments have not been finalised.
Timing matters because the same institutions may be considering both companies.
An Anthropic flotation would also provide a market-tested valuation, potentially giving investors greater leverage in negotiations with OpenAI.
Edward Best, co-chair of capital markets at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, suggested OpenAI may want to establish its price before that happens.
“OpenAI could want to set its own valuation and not have to worry about a comp,” Best told Reuters.
A valuation above $1.4 trillion would be more than a 64% increase from March. Securing that figure now could prove harder once Anthropic starts trading.
Rapid revenue growth comes with a catch
OpenAI is pitching annualised revenue of $50 billion following the release of GPT-6 Astra and expects that figure to reach $70 billion by year-end.
Anthropic previously reported an annualised rate near $65 billion in July. Its third-quarter revenue climbed to $16.8 billion from $11.6 billion in the preceding quarter, although slowing monthly growth has unsettled some investors.
Those numbers are not necessarily comparable. OpenAI reports certain partner-related revenue after subtracting partners’ shares, while Anthropic includes the gross value of some cloud-provider contracts.
Anthropic maintains that its accounting follows established practices.
At $1.4 trillion, OpenAI would be valued at about 28 times its current annualised revenue, before considering profitability. The valuation would test how much future growth investors are willing to pay for before profits catch up.
Gil Luria, head of technology research at DA Davidson, told CNBC that Anthropic’s earlier enterprise lead had narrowed as OpenAI caught up and businesses adopted cheaper open-weight models.
Market turbulence threatens the timetable
The funding push comes as investors question whether the AI infrastructure boom can support its borrowing and construction costs.
Debt concerns at cloud provider CoreWeave and a sharp sell-off in semiconductor stocks have intensified scrutiny.
As per reports, some of Anthropic’s investors now favour a flotation valuation closer to $1.5 trillion rather than its previously sought $2 trillion.
Analysts described recent AI-stock weakness as a valuation reset, rather than the market questioning the efficacy of AI itself.
OpenAI needs fresh capital for infrastructure commitments and could also strengthen its finances before a possible 2027 IPO. Its accelerated round may therefore secure funding as well as a valuation benchmark.
But the timing carries a risk, as Anthropic’s listing could reveal information that changes how investors price both businesses.
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