OpenAI nears $30B raise at $1.25T pre-money valuation

OpenAI is close to raising up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, CNBC reported on October 22, 2026. The round would be led by Coatue and investors from the United Arab Emirates, according to TechCrunch's account of the report. The price is lower than the roughly $1.4 trillion discussed weeks earlier. A round above $1 trillion would still make OpenAI the most valuable private company ever, TechCrunch notes.

What the reports say about the round

A pre-money valuation is what a company is worth before the new cash arrives. Add the money raised and you get the post-money figure. None of the terms are final, and OpenAI declined to comment.

Detail	What has been reported
Size	Up to $30 billion, per CNBC
Valuation	$1.25 trillion before the new money
Value after the money	$1.28 trillion if the full $30 billion comes in, per Implicator
Lead investors	Coatue and UAE investors, per CNBC
Timing	OpenAI wants commitments by the end of next week, per Implicator
Side deal	Talks on more computing capacity from the UAE, per CNBC

"Terms are still being negotiated," TechCrunch wrote, so the numbers could change. TechBooky adds that Reuters reported earlier in the week on a round of roughly $30 billion. SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's MGX were among the possible investors in that report.

Why the price is lower than $1.4 trillion

The same $30 billion target appeared at a higher price a few weeks ago. On September 30, Arise News relayed a Bloomberg report that OpenAI sought at least $30 billion at about $1.4 trillion. That report called the talks early and said the terms could change.

Implicator reports that OpenAI pitched the $1.4 trillion price to backers, including BlackRock and MGX, earlier in October. The new figure is about $150 billion lower, by Implicator's count.

The reports do not say why the price moved. They do place it after a rough month for OpenAI's numbers. Implicator puts its net annualized revenue at about $50 billion at the end of September. A higher $68 billion figure had circulated in late September, counting partners' gross revenue. That gap was the subject of our report on OpenAI's revenue on October 13.

Finance chief Sarah Friar defended the company's position in a CNBC interview on September 15. "We still have an incredible balance sheet," she said, as quoted by Implicator. OpenAI's last round, in March, raised $122 billion at an $852 billion post-money valuation, according to Arise News.

The race with Anthropic to go public

The round is a bridge, not an exit. OpenAI and Anthropic each filed confidential paperwork for an initial public offering in June, TechCrunch reports. CNBC says Anthropic is seeking a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion for its listing. Anthropic last raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in May.

Implicator expects Anthropic to list around mid-November. OpenAI has not set a date. Sam Altman said in an interview published September 12 that "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public," Implicator reports. Anthropic's draft filing already shows an $80.7 billion loss on $16.3 billion of revenue.

What this means for developers

A private round does not change OpenAI's prices or APIs today. It does shape the vendor many teams depend on for the next few years.

• Read it as runway, not a verdict. Up to $30 billion of fresh cash pays for the computing power behind OpenAI's models. The round is not closed, so treat it as likely, not certain.
• Watch the UAE compute deal. CNBC reports talks on more computing capacity from the UAE. Where that capacity sits could matter for data-residency rules, so ask your account team once terms are public.
• Keep a second provider ready. Both leading labs are heading toward public markets, and their prices may change as they do. Test your prompts against a second model now, so a price change is a choice and not an emergency.
• Track the listing documents. Anthropic's draft S-1 already disclosed its losses and revenue. A public OpenAI filing would do the same. Those numbers show how much room each vendor has before it must raise prices.