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OpenAI is racing to raise about $30 billion before Anthropic goes public, Reuters reported on 20 October, citing sources. OpenAI declined to comment.
Most of this story rests on unnamed sources, so it helps to keep two lists: what OpenAI has said itself, and what’s been reported about it.
What’s confirmed
On 31 March, OpenAI announced it had closed a round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
Sam Altman has since ruled out a stock market listing this year, as TechCrunch reported on 29 September. OpenAI didn’t respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment on the new round.
What’s been reported about the new round
| Claim | Who reported it | Date |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI is seeking at least $30bn at about a $1.4tn valuation | Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the talks | 29 September |
| The talks are early and no term sheet had been signed | The Information | 29 September |
| The round would bridge OpenAI to a listing next year | Bloomberg, via TechCrunch | 29 September |
| OpenAI wants to close it before Anthropic’s IPO, at a valuation that could top $1.4tn | Reuters, citing sources | 20 October |
| SoftBank, MGX and other existing investors are in talks to join | Reuters, citing sources | 20 October |
If the $1.4 trillion figure holds, it would be about 64% above the March valuation. That comparison isn’t exact: some reports describe the new figure as a pre-money valuation, while March’s $852 billion was post-money.
Why Anthropic’s timing matters
Anthropic hasn’t announced a date, but Reuters reported that its stock market debut is expected in mid-November. Its latest private round valued it close to $1 trillion, CNBC reported on 28 May. That put it ahead of OpenAI’s March valuation and made it the most valuable AI startup at the time.
OpenAI declined to comment to Reuters, and Anthropic didn’t immediately respond.
Why it matters if you build on these models
Rounds this size mostly pay for compute: chips, data centres and the long-term contracts behind them. We’ve covered how that spending gets financed in our pieces on the debt behind AI data centres and on CoreWeave’s bonds.
For developers, the practical point is stability. Both companies are raising and spending at a scale that shapes API pricing and capacity, and neither has said how a listing would change either.
What happens next
Nothing here is final. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic has given a date for a listing, and the terms of OpenAI’s round could change. We’ll update this piece if either company confirms details.
