Reuters reported on 20 October that OpenAI is seeking commitments for a round of about $30 billion before Anthropic’s expected mid-November IPO, at a potential valuation above $1.4 trillion. OpenAI was valued at $852 billion after a $122 billion funding round in March.
SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and other existing backers are in talks to join the round, one person told Reuters. OpenAI met long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds in the week beginning 12 October, while Anthropic held an investor day. OpenAI is pitching $50 billion in annualised revenue following the launch of GPT-6 Astra and expects $70 billion by year-end, according to one person familiar with the matter. The company wants to complete the round before Anthropic’s financial disclosures invite comparisons, the person said.
Anthropic’s annualised revenue reached roughly $65 billion by July, and it told investors quarterly revenue rose to $16.8 billion in the third quarter from $11.6 billion in the second, Reuters reported. Some existing and prospective Anthropic investors have argued for an IPO valuation closer to $1.5 trillion than its desired $2 trillion after third-quarter results fell short of expectations.
