OpenAI seeks $30B at $1.25T, down from $1.4T
OpenAI is close to raising up to 30 billion dollars at a price of 1.25 trillion dollars, CNBC and the Financial Times reported on the 22nd of October 2026. The price is 150 billion dollars below the 1.4 trillion OpenAI first asked for.
OpenAI's price: 1.25 trillion dollarsOpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, wants to raise up to 30 billion dollars, CNBC said on the 22nd of October 2026. The cash would carry the firm until it first sells its shares to the public, CNBC wrote.
The deal sets the price of the whole firm at 1.25 trillion dollars, CNBC said. It first asked for 1.4 trillion, the Financial Times (FT) wrote.
Some backers would not pay 1.4 trillion dollars, the FT wrote
The firm cut its price after some backers, the people and funds who put in money, said no, the FT wrote. Fewer buyers wanted in than in past rounds, the paper said.
The bank Morgan Stanley and the fund Dragoneer had shown the 1.4 trillion price to the bank's rich clients, the FT said.
Below we break down the price: 1.25 trillion dollars, plus 30 billion of new cash
A firm's price, or value, is what backers agree the whole firm is worth. One trillion is one thousand billion.
The 1.25 trillion dollars counts the firm before the new cash comes in, CNBC said. With all 30 billion in, it would be worth 1.28 trillion, by our math.
The cut takes 150 billion dollars off the first price, about 11 percent, by our math.
OpenAI's own posts: from 157 billion to 852 billion dollars in 18 months
In October 2024, OpenAI wrote that it raised 6.6 billion dollars at a price of 157 billion.
On the 31st of March 2026, the firm wrote that it raised 122 billion dollars at 852 billion.
Who pays: backers from the United Arab Emirates and the US fund Coatue
Backers from the United Arab Emirates, a rich Gulf state, and the US fund Coatue lead the new round, CNBC said. The firm wants the deal signed by the end of next week, CNBC wrote.
What is confirmed and what is not
The firm did not comment, the news site TechCrunch said on the 22nd of October. The final size is still open, CNBC wrote.
The firm "will be a public company in 2027", money chief Sarah Friar told staff on the 19th of August 2026, CNBC said.
Key facts
Up to 30 billion dollars at 1.25 trillion, CNBC said on the 22nd of October 2026.
Down from 1.4 trillion after some backers said no, the FT wrote.
Last round: 122 billion dollars at 852 billion, in March 2026.
OpenAI did not comment.
Source: CNBC and the Financial Times, the 22nd of October 2026; OpenAI's funding posts