The Financial Times reports that OpenAI has lowered its valuation target for its latest funding round to $1.25 trillion after some investors resisted a $1.4 trillion price. Documents the paper says it saw show Morgan Stanley and Dragoneer floated the higher pre-money valuation to the bank’s private-wealth clients. The new target would still be almost 50% above what the FT calls OpenAI’s current $852 billion valuation.
Separately, CNBC reports that OpenAI is nearing a round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, which excludes the new capital. CNBC’s sources describe investors from the United Arab Emirates and Coatue as leading the financing; the FT says they were in discussions to lead it.
Multiple people familiar with the Morgan Stanley-led process told the FT that demand from clients was weaker than in past rounds. “There has been zero clamouring,” one said. Some described fatigue after earlier investments; other investors said they wanted to see how Anthropic prices its IPO before committing to OpenAI.
Prospective investors have until Oct. 30 to commit, and OpenAI could raise less than $30 billion depending on interest, according to the FT. The financing is intended as a bridge to a possible public offering. A person close to OpenAI told the FT an IPO was likely in the first half of 2027, though no date had been fixed. CNBC reports that CFO Sarah Friar told employees in August the company “will be a public company in 2027”; CEO Sam Altman said the following month that “right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public.”
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