OpenAI is looking for a valuation of at least $1.5 trillion in a fresh funding round, even as investors have offered to invest at a valuation of about $1.2 trillion.
OpenAI believes it should be offered a higher price based on increased customer traction with its coding tool, Codex, and its latest A.I. models, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The New York Times.
While ChatGPT established OpenAI as a consumer AI platform, coding is emerging as a potentially important enterprise use case. Tools such as Codex can become embedded in software-development workflows, potentially encouraging companies to spend more on AI services.
OpenAI generated more than $40 billion in annualised revenue last month, roughly double its sales figure at the end of last year.
Any decision to move forward with the fundraising effort will hinge on exactly when OpenAI decides to go public, a person familiar with the talks said, asking not to be identified. The talks were initiated by investors, according to a Bloomberg report.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman told Fortune earlier that the company’s long-anticipated IPO is still in the works, but would not happen this year. The additional funding, if the AI giant takes it, would provide flexibility to potentially push back its IPO further, by one or two quarters, another person familiar said.
Another reason OpenAI could consider additional fundraising would be to support more mergers and acquisitions, the person said.
The company has spent billions acquiring startups, including Apple Inc. veteran Jony Ive’s AI device startup io and Astral, a startup that makes Python tools for developers.
The Financial Times reported on the talks earlier on Tuesday, noting that the round would allow longtime backers to increase their exposure ahead of the company’s IPO.
A funding round of this size could put OpenAI ahead of its main rival, Anthropic, which raised funds in May at a $965 billion valuation, including the new investment.
Anthropic is currently preparing to go public this fall in what could be the world’s largest public offering. The Claude chatbot maker is seeking to raise as much as or more than SpaceX in an IPO that could take place as soon as October, Bloomberg has reported. SpaceX raised a record $86.3 billion in its offering in June.
Sanchari Ghosh is an Assistant Editor at Mint with over 12 years of experience in journalism, specialising in personal finance, DLT & DeFi, geopolitics and foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on how these areas intersect. <br> She writes extensively about how money works in everyday life—helping readers navigate personal finance decisions. <br> As AI reshapes investing behaviour, capital is increasingly flowing into decentralized ecosystems, redefining how assets are managed, traded, and valued. She focuses on explaining how money flows within frameworks like Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), DeFi protocols, and crypto markets—while also exploring what the future of money could look like in a trustless, programmable financial world. <br> She also focuses on immigration-related issues, simplifying complex topics around visas, passports, overseas financial planning, and the many practical challenges Indians face while moving or living abroad. <br> Alongside personal finance, Sanchari has a strong understanding of international politics, contemporary and historical conflicts, and global state decisions. She closely tracks how geopolitical developments influence economies, markets, and individual financial choices, bringing together finance and global affairs in her reporting. <br> She began her career as a desk editor, which gave her a strong foundation in news writing. Over time, her interest naturally shifted toward personal finance. Before joining Mint in 2020, she worked DNA, The Times of India, Outlook Money, BloombergQuint, and ETMoney. At Mint, she got an opportunity to expand her coverage to include immigration and geopolitical developments while continuing to closely follow personal finance trends and market movements.As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour, and fairness. <br> She is an English Major and her work took her across cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. Living independently from an early age gave her firsthand experience in managing life and money on her own. This practical exposure sparked her strong interest in personal finance. <br> Outside the newsroom, Sanchari is a sports enthusiast who regularly plays lawn tennis and squash. In her younger years, she was also a national-level badminton player.
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Facts Only
* OpenAI is seeking a valuation of at least $1.5 trillion in a new funding round.
* Investors have offered a valuation of approximately $1.2 trillion.
* OpenAI's annualized revenue exceeded $40 billion last month.
* Revenue has roughly doubled since the end of last year.
* OpenAI has acquired startups io and Astral.
* Sam Altman stated an IPO will not occur this year.
* Anthropic raised funds in May at a $965 billion valuation.
* Anthropic is preparing for an IPO as early as October.
* SpaceX raised $86.3 billion in a June offering.
* OpenAI's coding tool is called Codex.
* OpenAI's latest AI models are GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol.
Executive Summary
OpenAI is currently negotiating a new funding round, aiming for a valuation of $1.5 trillion, though investors have proposed $1.2 trillion. The company justifies this premium based on strong revenue growth—doubling in a year to over $40 billion annualized—and increased enterprise traction for its coding tool, Codex, and new models GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol.
The timing of this capital raise is closely linked to OpenAI's eventual public offering. While an IPO is not expected this year, additional funding would provide the financial flexibility to delay the listing by several quarters or fund further mergers and acquisitions. This move occurs as primary competitor Anthropic prepares for a potentially record-breaking IPO this fall, seeking to match or exceed the $86.3 billion raised by SpaceX in June. The outcome of these talks will determine whether OpenAI maintains a significant valuation lead over its rivals.
Full Take
The narrative presented here is a classic study in "valuation signaling." The strongest version of this story is that OpenAI is transitioning from a consumer-facing novelty (ChatGPT) to a critical piece of enterprise infrastructure (Codex), justifying a trillion-dollar-plus valuation through massive revenue acceleration.
The primary pattern here is the use of "anonymous sources" to leak specific, high-stakes numbers ($1.5T vs $1.2T) and product names (GPT-6 Astra) before official announcements. This functions as a market-shaping mechanism: by socializing the $1.5 trillion figure, the company anchors investor expectations upward and projects an image of strength and exclusivity.
The underlying paradigm is the "AI Arms Race," where valuation is treated as a proxy for capability and dominance. The constant juxtaposition with Anthropic and SpaceX suggests that success is measured not by product utility, but by the scale of the capital moat. The unstated assumption is that hyper-growth and aggressive M&A are the only viable paths to survival in the AGI race.
Second-order consequences include a potential "valuation bubble" where the pressure to justify a $1.5 trillion price tag forces the company to prioritize short-term monetization over safety or long-term stability.
Bridge Questions:
1. If revenue is doubling so rapidly, why is the company seeking external funding rather than relying on its own cash flow?
2. How much of the $1.5 trillion valuation is based on current revenue versus speculative future dominance of the coding market?
3. What happens to the AI ecosystem if the "valuation war" leads to a market correction?
Counterstrike Scan: An influence campaign would use these leaks to trigger "FOMO" among institutional investors and inflate the perceived value of AI assets globally. The content follows the standard pattern of high-finance reporting; while it serves as a vehicle for these signals, it does not deviate into coordinated manipulation.
Patterns detected: none
Sentinel — Human
The core narrative regarding OpenAI's funding strategy and competitive landscape reads like standard financial journalism, but the appended biographical section requires further context to determine if it is original editorial content or an externally inserted block.