OpenAI Completes First Tranche of Approximately US$11 Billion New Funding Round at a Valuation of US$1.25 Trillion

OpenAI Completes First Tranche of Approximately US$11 Billion New Funding Round at a Valuation of US$1.25 Trillion According to people familiar with the matter, AI company OpenAI has completed the first tranche of its new funding round of approximately US$11 billion, with the company valued at US$1.25 trillion. However, as market concerns over the AI industry's massive capital expenditures intensify, both the size and valuation of OpenAI's current funding round have been revised down from initial targets, reflecting investors' increasingly cautious stance toward the AI sector. The people said that as of Friday, the first tranche of approximately US$11 billion had been wired into OpenAI's accounts. The funding round has not yet been fully completed, with the remainder expected to close in the coming weeks, and the final total could reach US$20 billion. The people requested anonymity because the information has not been made public. OpenAI declined to comment. The funding round is a key move by OpenAI to raise development capital after postponing its initial public offering (IPO) plans. For more than a month, the company has been in talks with potential investors for a new large-scale funding round. According to earlier reports, OpenAI initially planned to raise at least US$30 billion at a valuation of US$1.4 trillion. However, following the recent sharp selloff in AI stocks in public markets, the company ultimately lowered its fundraising target. Based on the current potential fundraising size of up to US$20 billion, the amount raised is about one-third less than the initial target of at least US$30 billion, while the US$1.25 trillion valuation is about 10.7% lower than the previously planned US$1.4 trillion. Despite the scaled-back fundraising target, OpenAI remains one of the AI companies attracting the most capital globally. The company just completed a funding round of US$122 billion in March this year at a valuation of US$852 billion. By comparison, the current US$1.25 trillion valuation is about 46.7% higher than in March. SoftBank, Sequoia Capital and others participate in funding The people said investors participating in the first tranche closing include Coatue Management and T. Rowe Price. Other investors in the round include SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, among other well-known investment institutions. In addition, according to earlier reports, an investor consortium from the UAE also participated in the funding. The people said that in addition to institutional investors, OpenAI is also working with investment banks to seek capital from high-net-worth individuals and retail investors to further broaden its funding sources. AI investment enthusiasm cools; massive capital expenditures raise concerns OpenAI's downward revision of its fundraising target highlights the changing financing environment for the AI industry. As one of the core companies driving the current generative AI boom, OpenAI had previously continued to attract large-scale capital investment on the back of rapidly growing market demand and investor enthusiasm. However, since the launch of this funding round, market views on the AI industry have shifted markedly. Investors are increasingly concerned about whether the massive sums tech companies are spending on building AI data centers, procuring high-performance chips, and expanding computing infrastructure can sufficient revenue and profit in the future. Meanwhile, political environment changes following the U.S. midterm elections have also raised market concerns that data center construction may face new obstacles, further exacerbating uncertainty over the outlook for AI infrastructure expansion. Recently, AI-related stocks have suffered significant selloffs in public markets, putting pressure on valuations of privately held AI companies as well. Investors have begun reassessing the high-growth expectations and valuation premiums previously assigned to AI companies. This shift affects not only OpenAI but also its major competitor Anthropic. According to earlier reports, potential investors considering participating in Anthropic's future IPO have also begun reassessing the valuation of the developer of the Claude chatbot. Currently, potential investors are discussing a valuation range of approximately US$1.2 trillion to US$1.3 trillion for Anthropic, below the previous expectation of about US$1.5 trillion. This means that even the world's leading generative AI companies cannot fully escape the valuation pressure brought by public market adjustments. For OpenAI, the smooth completion of the first tranche of this funding round means the company can still secure massive capital support from large institutional investors, providing funding for subsequent AI model research and development, computing infrastructure construction, and business expansion. However, from the initial plan to raise at least US$30 billion at a valuation of US$1.4 trillion to the current potential fundraising size of up to US$20 billion at a valuation of US$1.25 trillion, the changes in financing terms also show that capital market investment in AI companies is shifting from previously high optimism toward greater prudence. As AI infrastructure spending continues to expand, investors may focus more on companies' commercialization capabilities, capital efficiency, and whether massive investments can generate sustainable returns.