OpenAI Raises $11 Billion at a $1.25 Trillion Valuation — But It Wanted Much More

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has raised $11 billion in new funding at a valuation of $1.25 trillion, according to Bloomberg. The money was wired to the company on Friday, 6 November 2026. But the numbers tell a second story too: OpenAI originally wanted to raise far more, and investors are no longer willing to pay any price for a piece of the world’s most famous AI company.

The $11 billion is only the first part of a larger funding round that has not closed yet. Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the round could reach about $20 billion in the coming weeks. That would still be well short of the $30 billion OpenAI was seeking when it started the process in late September.

The news landed on the same day that OpenAI’s closest rival, Anthropic, saw its own hopes for a huge stock market debut slide. Together, the two stories suggest the AI boom is entering a new, more careful phase — one where investors still believe in artificial intelligence, but want proof that the huge spending will pay off.

What OpenAI announced — and what it did not

OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the $11 billion figure. Bloomberg’s report, published on Friday and picked up by TechCrunch and other outlets, cited sources familiar with the matter. The investors behind the new money have not been named.

What we do know, from the reporting, is this:

• $11 billion has been raised so far, and the money has already been wired to OpenAI.
• The round values OpenAI at $1.25 trillion.
• The round is not closed yet. It could grow to about $20 billion in total, with up to $9 billion more to come in the coming weeks.
• In late September, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was looking to raise $30 billion in this round.
• The valuation is also lower than OpenAI first hoped. The company had been targeting a valuation of $1.4 trillion, according to the Financial Times, before cutting its goal by about $10 billion and lowering the valuation to $1.25 trillion.

Microsoft is among the possible participants in the round. The software giant has contributed to at least four of OpenAI’s previous funding rounds, according to SiliconANGLE, which also reported on the Bloomberg story. Neither Microsoft nor OpenAI has confirmed its participation this time.

A smaller round than planned — and why it matters

The gap between what OpenAI wanted and what it got is the real story here.

Just a few weeks ago, OpenAI was talking about a $30 billion round at a $1.4 trillion valuation. Now it has $11 billion in hand, a $20 billion target, and a $1.25 trillion valuation. That is still an enormous amount of money — and a valuation that would make OpenAI one of the most valuable private companies in the world — but it is a clear step down from the company’s own ambitions.

The reason, according to the reporting, is the sudden change of mood in the markets. Technology stocks sold off sharply this week. On Thursday, 5 November, the Nasdaq index fell 5.52%, the S&P 500 fell 4.36% and the Dow Jones fell 3.44%, wiping trillions of dollars off the value of listed companies. Asian markets followed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei index falling 6% in a single day.

Investors are asking a simple question: how much money will AI companies spend on data centres and computer chips, and when will that spending start to pay for itself?

TechCrunch noted that the Democratic Party’s landslide win in the US midterm elections, and strongly negative voter feeling about data centres, has added to the jitters. Many investors now expect tougher rules on data centres in the future.

OpenAI is at the centre of that debate. In July, The Information reported that the company has more than $665 billion worth of chip and data centre commitments. That is a huge bill to pay, and it explains why OpenAI needs to keep raising money even while its revenue is growing fast.

OpenAI’s business is growing — fast

The funding news comes at a time when OpenAI’s business is actually doing very well.

The Financial Times reported last month that OpenAI closed the third quarter of 2026 with $50 billion in net annualised revenue — a figure that shows how much money the company would make in a year if it kept earning at its current pace. That was 77% higher than a year earlier, and the growth was driven by OpenAI’s business customers, whose spending more than doubled.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman told the Wall Street Journal this week that the company’s growth slowed in the first half of the year, but started speeding up again after the June launch of GPT-5.6 Sol, the model that came before the current GPT-6 Astra. ChatGPT Work, the company’s workplace product, and its coding tools also helped, Brockman said.

On Thursday, OpenAI launched GPT-6 Cyber, a new AI model built for cybersecurity work. According to SiliconANGLE, OpenAI’s engineers used it to develop 948 Linux exploits and uncover 81 high-severity flaws in the Firefox web browser.

OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, told CNBC in an interview on Friday that the company would continue investing in data centres and raising capital.

The new valuation is also well above where OpenAI stood earlier this year. Its previous round brought in $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion, according to the company’s own announcement. The $1.25 trillion figure is roughly 47% higher than that.

Anthropic’s IPO hopes are sliding too

OpenAI is not the only AI company facing a cooler reception from investors.

On the same day as the OpenAI funding report, Bloomberg reported that potential buyers of shares in Anthropic’s planned stock market listing are eyeing a much lower valuation than the company had hoped for. Some potential buyers believe Anthropic could be worth as little as $1.1 trillion, compared with the $2 trillion that investors were said to be expecting roughly a month ago.

Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI assistant, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) that would value it at $1.5 trillion. But the Wall Street Journal reported that one shareholder has suggested a valuation closer to $1 trillion. Anthropic is expected to start its IPO roadshow — the series of meetings where a company presents itself to big investors — next week, and the Financial Times reported that it plans to go public before Thanksgiving.

Anthropic’s own filing showed that its quarterly revenue jumped 1,127% compared with a year earlier in the third quarter, according to SiliconANGLE. Even so, investors are clearly in no mood to pay top dollar.

What is an IPO — and why does it matter here?

For readers who are new to this world, a quick explanation helps.

A funding round is when a private company sells a small part of itself to investors in exchange for cash. The valuation is the total value investors place on the whole company. A $1.25 trillion valuation means investors believe OpenAI, as a whole, is worth $1.25 trillion — even though only $11 billion of new money has changed hands so far.

An IPO, or initial public offering, is when a company first sells its shares to the general public on a stock exchange. After an IPO, anyone can buy and sell the company’s shares, and its value rises and falls every day with the market.

OpenAI is expected to go public at some point in 2027, according to Reuters. The $11 billion raised now should make it easier for the company to pay its huge infrastructure bills until that listing happens.

The valuation matters because it sets the price for everyone: the investors who put money in now, the employees who hold shares, and the public investors who will buy in at the IPO. A lower valuation than expected is not a disaster — $1.25 trillion is still a record-breaking figure for a private company — but it is a signal. The market is saying: we still believe in AI, but we want a fair price.

Why investors are suddenly careful

Three things have changed in the last few weeks.

First, the stock market sell-off. The sharp fall in technology shares this week was driven by worries about AI spending. Investors looked at the hundreds of billions of dollars that OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Meta and others are pouring into data centres, and started to ask when the returns would arrive. The Nasdaq’s 5.52% fall on Thursday was its worst in months.

Second, politics. The US midterm elections gave the Democratic Party control of both chambers of Congress. Voters have grown unhappy about the data centres being built in their communities — the huge buildings full of computers that power AI — because of their use of electricity and water. TechCrunch reported that many investors now expect tougher regulation of data centres, which could slow down AI companies’ plans.

Third, the sheer scale of the spending. OpenAI’s $665 billion in chip and data centre commitments is an extraordinary number. Even for a company earning $50 billion a year in annualised revenue, that is a very large bill. Investors want to know that the money will turn into profit — not just into more spending.

None of this means the AI boom is over. OpenAI is still growing fast, still raising billions, and still planning to go public. But the easy days, when investors competed to pay the highest price, appear to be ending.

What happens next

Several things to watch in the coming weeks:

• The rest of the round. OpenAI hopes to raise up to $9 billion more, taking the round to about $20 billion. Whether it manages that — and at what valuation — will be a test of investor confidence.
• Anthropic’s IPO. The roadshow starts next week. The final valuation it achieves will tell us how much the public market is willing to pay for an AI company right now.
• OpenAI’s own IPO. Expected in 2027, it could be one of the biggest stock market listings in history. The $1.25 trillion private valuation will be the starting point for that conversation.
• The data centre debate. With voters and politicians both paying closer attention, the rules around where data centres can be built — and how much power and water they can use — may change. That would affect every AI company, not just OpenAI.

Why this story matters

This is not just a story about one company raising money. OpenAI is the most closely watched private company in the world, and its valuation is treated as a measure of the whole AI industry. When OpenAI has to accept less money than it wanted, at a lower valuation than it hoped for, it tells us something about the mood of the entire market.

For ordinary people, the message is simpler. The AI tools millions of us use every day — ChatGPT and its rivals — cost an enormous amount of money to build and run. The companies behind them are now having to prove, to the people who fund them, that the spending is worth it. The next few months, with Anthropic’s IPO and the rest of OpenAI’s funding round, will show whether they can.

Frequently asked questions

How much did OpenAI raise?

OpenAI has raised $11 billion so far in a new funding round, according to Bloomberg. The money was wired to the company on Friday, 6 November 2026. The round has not closed yet and could reach about $20 billion in total.

What is OpenAI worth now?

The funding round values OpenAI at $1.25 trillion. That is about 47% higher than the $852 billion valuation of its previous round, but lower than the $1.4 trillion valuation the company had originally targeted.

Why did OpenAI raise less than it wanted?

OpenAI originally sought $30 billion. According to Bloomberg and the Financial Times, the target was cut after a sharp sell-off in technology stocks and growing investor concern about the huge sums AI companies are spending on data centres and computer chips.

When will OpenAI go public?

OpenAI is expected to hold an initial public offering (IPO) sometime in 2027, according to Reuters. The company has not announced a date.

What is happening with Anthropic?

Anthropic, OpenAI’s main rival, has filed for an IPO at a $1.5 trillion valuation. But Bloomberg reported that some potential investors are eyeing a valuation as low as $1.1 trillion. Its IPO roadshow is expected to begin next week.

Does this mean the AI boom is over?

No. OpenAI’s revenue is growing fast — up 77% year on year, according to the Financial Times — and it is still raising billions. But investors are becoming more careful about price, and want evidence that the huge spending on data centres will pay off.

Sources

• TechCrunch, “OpenAI reportedly raises an additional $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation”, 6 November 2026: https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/06/openai-reportedly-raises-an-additional-11-billion-at-a-1-25-trillion-valuation/
• SiliconANGLE, “OpenAI reportedly raises $11B in new funding at $1.25T valuation”, 6 November 2026: https://siliconangle.com/2026/11/06/openai-reportedly-raises-11b-in-new-funding-at-1-25t-valuation/
• Techstrong.ai, “OpenAI secures $11B as fundraising goal shrinks to $20B”, 6 November 2026: https://techstrong.ai/articles/openai-secures-11b-as-fundraising-goal-shrinks-to-20b/

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.