OpenAI Eyes $100 Billion Funding Round at $830 Billion Valuation

• OpenAI is reportedly in advanced talks to raise up to $100 billion in a funding round that could value the company at $830 billion, surpassing its most recent secondary valuation of $500 billion.
• The company, already holding more than $64 billion in cash reserves and generating an annual run-rate revenue of $20 billion, is seeking additional capital to fund massive infrastructure costs and maintain its lead amid intense competition from Anthropic and Google (GOOG, GOOGL).
• While OpenAI explores potential partnerships, including a rumored $10 billion investment from Amazon (AMZN), CEO Sam Altman has expressed reluctance about leading a public company, despite ongoing preparations for a possible future IPO.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that OpenAI is pursuing one of the most ambitious private funding rounds in history, with discussions underway to raise up to $100 billion in capital that could value the company at as much as $830 billion. This follows a recent secondary transaction that valued the firm at about $500 billion, marking a significant jump in investor confidence in its trajectory.

The fundraising effort, still in early stages, targets completion by the end of the first quarter of 2026. The report notes that OpenAI may seek participation from sovereign wealth funds to support the scale of the round, reflecting the need for long‑term, patient capital amid escalating infrastructure demands.

The company already maintains substantial cash reserves exceeding $64 billion, according to PitchBook data. A successful raise would bolster these resources to address mounting expenses, particularly for inferencing – where costs are increasingly covered by cash rather than subsidized cloud credits – as compute needs outpace partnership offsets. OpenAI’s commitments include trillions of dollars in global deals for data centers and hardware to sustain its lead in advanced AI development.

Revenue growth remains robust, with the company generating an annual run-rate of about $20 billion, driven by widespread adoption of ChatGPT and enterprise offerings. This provides a foundation for its high valuation, though expenses continue to rise in parallel.

Competition from Anthropic and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) has intensified, prompting OpenAI to accelerate model releases and expand its developer ecosystem. Broader AI investment sentiment has cooled somewhat, with concerns about sustained debt-fueled spending by major players like Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Oracle (ORCL), compounded by supply constraints in memory chips that could impact the sector.

Amid these pressures, rumors persist of potential partnerships, including talks with Amazon for a $10 billion investment that would grant OpenAI access to the tech giant’s AI computing chips. Separately, OpenAI is exploring an IPO as a future avenue to raise tens of billions more, though CEO Sam Altman has expressed mixed feelings about leading a public company. He described his excitement for the role as “0%” in a recent episode of the “Big Technology Podcast”, noting it could be “really annoying” in some ways, while acknowledging potential benefits in others.

If the current round closes successfully, it would provide OpenAI with unprecedented resources to navigate the high-stakes race in AI innovation and commercialization.

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