OpenAI is seeking to raise up to $20 billion in a new funding round, CNBC confirmed on Saturday, paring back its earlier target of up to $30 billion.
Funding Round Details
The funding round remains active and has not yet closed, meaning the final figures could change, according to an anonymous source directly familiar with the transaction who spoke with CNBC. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the fundraising efforts.
The Financial Times initially reported the $10 billion reduction in the company’s target and noted that OpenAI is aiming for a post-money valuation of $1.25 trillion. Investors were given a Friday deadline to commit to this latest round, with some participants choosing to scale back their allocations, as reported by FT. Investors based in the United Arab Emirates are leading the round alongside Coatue, as CNBC previously reported.
Market Impact and Tech Spending
The decision to lower the funding target comes during a week marked by investor scrutiny over whether heavy artificial intelligence spending by major technology companies—particularly on data centers and graphics processing units—will generate sufficient returns. Artificial intelligence-related stocks declined on Friday, with chip manufacturer Intel dropping 25% following weak revenue guidance, Micron declining 5.5%, and Nvidia decreasing 4%.
Major technology firms including Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, and Amazon have invested heavily in recent years to satisfy the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. However, all three companies released capital expenditure figures or projections last week that fell short of analyst expectations.
Alphabet experienced its worst trading day in history on Thursday after search revenue missed forecasts. Philipp Schindler, Alphabet’s chief business officer, explained that the negative impact on search was partly due to lower monetization inside the company’s AI Mode.
