OpenAI is rushing to secure investor commitments before Anthropic’s expected public market debut in mid-November, according to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter. The round could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.4 trillion.
SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and other existing backers are in talks to join the round of about $30 billion, Reuters reports. The timetable is faster than is typical for an offering of this size.
OpenAI first looked to raise at this level in late September. It was seeking at least $30 billion at about $1.4 trillion. The company was last valued at $852 billion after a $122 billion round closed on 31 March.
Competing for the Same Investors
Reuters says the two labs are drawing on a similar pool of investors. OpenAI held meetings with long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds last week, while Anthropic was hosting its own investor day.
Some investors see the raise as a way to lock in capital that might otherwise go to Anthropic’s IPO. One source said OpenAI also wants to finish before Anthropic’s disclosures invite direct comparisons.
OpenAI is pitching growth that accelerated after the launch of its GPT-6 Astra model. It told investors it has reached $50 billion in annualised revenue and expects $70 billion by year-end, one source told Reuters. It has also cut prices on its cheaper models, which it says has boosted usage.
The two labs are also competing for enterprise customers, where company-wide deployments can generate more revenue than consumer subscriptions. OpenAI has upgraded its ChatGPT Chrome extension so the chatbot can act on a user’s open tabs.
Anthropic’s annualised revenue reached roughly $65 billion by July, Reuters previously reported. The company told investors its quarterly revenue rose to $16.8 billion in the third quarter from $11.6 billion in the second. Slowing month-to-month growth has raised questions about its valuation.
Anthropic has also been in talks to acquire Decart AI for around $6 billion, as it weighs a future public listing.
Revenue Dispute
OpenAI records revenue on a net basis, subtracting partner shares upfront. It has accused Anthropic of inflating its revenue by counting the full, gross value of contracts sold through third-party cloud providers. Anthropic told Reuters earlier that it follows established accounting practices.
“It’s really a two-horse race in terms of being public,” said Edward Best, co-chair of capital markets at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. He is not working on the deal and spoke on a hypothetical basis.
Reuters reports that the market has been choppy since September, with oil price volatility, rising bond yields and concerns about AI safety weighing on technology stocks. Companies in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index have shed $1.6 trillion in less than two weeks.
Some existing and prospective Anthropic investors have argued for a debut valuation closer to $1.5 trillion rather than the desired $2 trillion, after its third-quarter results fell short of expectations.
Cloud provider CoreWeave saw its shares and debt tumble last week as investors scrutinised its nearly $50 billion in borrowings. Blackstone-backed AirTrunk REIT, Nvidia-backed Firmus and SoftBank-backed SB Energy have pulled or paused listings. Holtec also withdrew its US listing last month.
Investors told Reuters that OpenAI needs the capital for its infrastructure commitments. It would also strengthen the balance sheet if weaker IPO markets push its planned 2027 listing back further.
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