OpenAI seeks at least $30B at a $1.4T pre-money valuation as a bridge round instead of an IPO

OpenAI aims to raise at least $30 billion in a new funding round at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion before the new money, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, after the company pushed back its plans to go public. According to the report, the round is intended as bridge financing that gives OpenAI capital in place of an IPO.

A bridge round instead of a listing

The fundraising talks are at an early stage and the terms could still change, Bloomberg reported, adding that the push for the round is coming from investors. Bloomberg previously reported that OpenAI was weighing a new round at a $1.2 trillion valuation; the target has since moved higher. A $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation would put OpenAI back above the most recent private-market valuation of longtime rival Anthropic.

The new round follows a March financing in which OpenAI closed $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion valuation. Chief Executive Sam Altman said earlier this month that the company would not go public in 2026, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Revenue approaching $70 billion

On the same day, Axios reported, citing sources familiar with the financials, that OpenAI's annual recurring revenue is nearing $70 billion. The annualized revenue run rate has grown more than 70% since the beginning of the third quarter, and business-to-business revenue has grown more than 100% over the same period, more than doubling since July.

On the consumer side, OpenAI added more revenue during the third quarter than it added during all of 2025, Axios reported. The outlet said it could not immediately learn details of OpenAI's expenses, context that matters when weighing the revenue growth.

What it means

Both figures land as OpenAI and Anthropic prepare for eventual IPOs, which would give investors the clearest look yet at the revenue opportunity and the extraordinary spending behind it. Anthropic's revenue reached an annualized total of about $65 billion in July, and its IPO prospectus shows $518 billion in future cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations, Reuters reported. For OpenAI, a bridge round rather than a listing keeps the company private for longer while supplying fresh capital.

Sources: Bloomberg · Axios