OpenAI is in talks over a new private funding round of up to $30 billion at a preliminary valuation of $1.25 trillion. Potential participants include investment firm Coatue and investors from the UAE, CNBC reports, citing sources. If the deal goes through on these terms, OpenAI could become the most valuable private company in history. Rather than going public immediately, the developer of ChatGPT appears to be considering raising additional funds in the private market.

The terms of the round are still being discussed and may change. According to CNBC, investment from the UAE could also be accompanied by an agreement to provide OpenAI with additional computing capacity.

OpenAI’s valuation keeps rising

As TechCrunch notes, reports of the new round surfaced about a month after Bloomberg reported on talks to raise $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation. CNBC is now citing a different preliminary valuation — $1.25 trillion. The difference shows that the deal terms have not yet been finalized.

In March, OpenAI completed a major $122 billion funding round, after which the company was valued at $852 billion including the newly raised capital. Private investors were among the participants in that round.

The new round could push OpenAI’s valuation above the $1 trillion mark even before it goes public. That would strengthen its position among the world’s largest private companies, while also raising investor expectations for a future IPO.

OpenAI declined to comment on the reports of the talks.

Why the company is raising money before its IPO

OpenAI has already taken steps toward a public listing: in June, the company confidentially filed documents in preparation for an IPO. However, that does not rule out raising additional private capital before going public.

Such a round would allow the company to secure new funding without proceeding with an immediate public offering. In the case of a deal with investors from the UAE, the financing could be tied not only to cash investment but also to access to additional computing resources — one of the key constraints on scaling AI services.

For OpenAI, the question of computing capacity is especially important: developing and serving large models requires significant investment in servers, accelerators, and data center infrastructure. Additional funding and agreements on computing resources could help the company sustain product development and expand their use.

For now, however, this is only a possible deal structure, not a confirmed agreement.

How this could affect Anthropic’s IPO

OpenAI’s new round could also influence expectations surrounding the public offering of its main competitor, Anthropic, the developer of the Claude family of models.

According to CNBC, Anthropic is considering going public at a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. In May, the company raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation. Like OpenAI, Anthropic confidentially filed documents in June in preparation for an IPO.

If OpenAI secures a $1.25 trillion valuation or higher in the private market, that would become an important benchmark for investors assessing the value of AI companies ahead of their stock market debut. However, a private valuation and the price the market is willing to pay for shares in a public company do not necessarily match.

Both companies are preparing for a possible public listing amid enormous spending on AI development and infrastructure. For investors, the key question will be not only the scale of capital raised, but also the ability of developers to turn growing demand for AI into sustainable revenue.

Talks with OpenAI are still ongoing, and their terms may change. Therefore, neither the $1.25 trillion valuation nor the $30 billion round size can yet be considered final.