# CNBC Confirms OpenAI Is Seeking Up to $20B, and Says the FT Put the $1.25T Valuation Post-Money

Times of AI Desk · 2026-09-29 · Frontier Labs

[https://timesof.ai/2026/09/openai-30b-bridge-round-14t](https://timesof.ai/2026/09/openai-30b-bridge-round-14t)

> Updated Nov. 1: CNBC confirmed that OpenAI is seeking up to $20 billion, down from up to $30 billion, and said the FT reported the $1.25 trillion valuation as post-money. The round is still open and its terms could change, a person familiar with the deal told CNBC. The WSJ has reported about $11 billion in commitments. OpenAI has not commented.

**Updated November 1, 2026:** CNBC has confirmed that OpenAI is seeking up to $20 billion and reports that the FT's $1.25 trillion valuation is post-money. The new section directly below covers it; earlier updates follow unchanged.

## October 31: CNBC confirms the $20B target and the round stays open

CNBC independently confirmed on **Saturday, October 31** that OpenAI is seeking to raise up to **$20 billion** in the round, down from its earlier target of up to $30 billion. The round is still in progress and has not closed, so the figures are subject to change, a person directly familiar with the deal told CNBC on condition of anonymity.

CNBC's account also settles a question left open in the sections below. It says the FT reported that OpenAI would seek a **post-money** valuation of $1.25 trillion. That is a lower price than CNBC's own October 22 report of $1.25 trillion pre-money, because a post-money figure includes the new cash. Investors from the UAE are leading the round alongside Coatue, as CNBC previously reported. OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

CNBC set the cut against a week of investor doubts about AI spending, including Alphabet's [worst trading day on record](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/alphabet-q3-2026-cloud-doubles-negative-free-cash-flow) on Thursday and further falls in AI-linked chip stocks on Friday.

### Limits of the November 1 update

- CNBC confirmed the $20 billion target through one unnamed person. The post-money basis is CNBC's account of the FT report, which we still could not read.
- CNBC does not confirm the WSJ's figure of about $11 billion in commitments, in the section below.
- Nothing has closed, the terms could change, and OpenAI has not commented.

**Updated October 31, 2026 (evening):** The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI has about $11 billion in commitments for the round. The new section directly below covers it; earlier updates follow unchanged.

## October 30–31: the WSJ puts commitments at about $11B

The lowered target now has a number under it. OpenAI has secured about **$11 billion** in commitments for its latest funding round, against an initial target of $30 billion, the **Wall Street Journal** reported, according to Investing.com's account of the report. That is a little over half of the roughly $20 billion the FT says OpenAI is now seeking, in the section below.

The WSJ put the valuation at **$1.25 trillion**, below the $1.4 trillion OpenAI initially sought, and reported that OpenAI has reduced its ambitions to as much as $20 billion, Investing.com says. OpenAI plans to approach family offices and wealthy individuals in the coming weeks to secure more commitments, and is preparing for a potential IPO as early as next year, according to the relay.

The report sets the round against Anthropic's numbers. Anthropic more than doubled its revenue to $11.6 billion in the second quarter from the first, while OpenAI's revenue rose about 18% over the same period to $6.7 billion, the WSJ reported, per Investing.com. Anthropic made a small operating profit in the quarter while OpenAI's operating losses widened, and OpenAI has regained some market share from Anthropic after cutting prices, according to third-party data cited in the report. Anthropic disclosed $16.3 billion of first-half revenue in its [S-1 filing](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/anthropic-files-s1-nasdaq-ant-16-3b-revenue) this week.

### Limits of the October 31 evening update

- We could not read the WSJ article. Every figure in this section comes from Investing.com's summary of it, and the relay does not name the WSJ's sources.
- Commitments are not a close. The relay does not say whether the UAE consortium described below is counted in the $11 billion.
- We have not reconciled the WSJ's quarterly revenue figures with Anthropic's S-1 or with any OpenAI disclosure.
- The relay includes no comment from OpenAI.

**Updated October 31, 2026:** The Financial Times reports that OpenAI has cut the round's target to about $20 billion. The new section directly below covers it; earlier updates follow unchanged.

## October 30: the FT reports a $20B target and a smaller first close

The round has shrunk before it has closed. OpenAI has cut the target for its latest funding round by **$10 billion** to about **$20 billion**, the **Financial Times** reported on **Friday, October 30**, citing people with knowledge of the matter, as carried by **Reuters** and **Investing.com**. OpenAI set Friday as the deadline for investors to commit, but the "first close" is expected to raise less than $20 billion after some investors reduced their allocations, the FT reported.

The FT put OpenAI's desired valuation at **$1.25 trillion**, down from the $1.4 trillion it had sought earlier, according to both relays. That is the same figure CNBC reported on October 22 as a pre-money valuation, in the section below, so the new element in the FT's account is the smaller size and the weaker take-up rather than a lower price than CNBC's. The relays do not say whether the FT's $1.25 trillion is pre-money or post-money.

According to Reuters' account of the FT report, a consortium of UAE investors that includes the state-backed fund **MGX** is expected to be the largest participant, and OpenAI would gain the option to lease newly developed computing capacity in the region. Founders Fund, Coatue, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also expected to take part, and wealthy individuals will be able to invest in a later retail offering at a $1.25 trillion valuation, the FT reported. OpenAI, MGX, Coatue, Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz did not immediately respond to Reuters, and Founders Fund could not be reached.

The cut came on the day a selloff in AI-linked stocks [pushed the Nasdaq Composite down 2.9%](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/ai-chip-selloff-oct-30-nasdaq-100-worst-day-since-june-intel-29pct), and as [Anthropic prepares its Nasdaq listing](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/anthropic-files-s1-nasdaq-ant-16-3b-revenue), which Investing.com says is expected in mid-November.

### Limits of the October 31 update

- Anonymous sourcing from a single outlet: every figure in this section comes from the FT's unnamed sources. We could not load the FT's article and rely on Reuters' and Investing.com's accounts of it, which are not independent confirmation.
- Reuters' account, as published by CNA, gives the earlier valuation as "$1.4 billion"; we read that as a typo for $1.4 trillion, which is the figure Investing.com gives.
- We do not calculate a post-money valuation because neither the basis of the $1.25 trillion nor the final size is known.
- Nothing has closed, and OpenAI has not commented.

**Updated October 23, 2026:** CNBC reports that OpenAI is close to finalizing a round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, led by investors from the UAE and Coatue. The new section directly below covers it; earlier updates follow unchanged.

## October 22: CNBC reports up to $30B at $1.25T pre-money, led by UAE investors and Coatue

The size has stayed at about $30 billion through a month of reports, but the price in the newest one is lower and the leads now have names. OpenAI is close to finalizing a funding round of up to **$30 billion** at a **$1.25 trillion pre-money valuation**, according to people familiar with the deal who spoke to **CNBC** on condition of anonymity. CNBC says that valuation does not include the new capital. Investors from the **United Arab Emirates** are leading the round alongside **Coatue**, the people said, and the financing is being positioned as an "opportunistic" bridge ahead of a potential IPO. OpenAI told investors on **Thursday, October 22** that it aims to secure signatures by the end of next week, but the final size of the round is still being determined, according to CNBC. One person told CNBC that OpenAI is also negotiating a commercial deal that would secure more computing capacity from the UAE.

**TechCrunch**, citing CNBC, says terms are still being negotiated and could change, and that OpenAI declined to comment. It compares the new figure with Bloomberg's report a month earlier of $30 billion at $1.4 trillion; our sections below carry that figure and Reuters' October 20 report of a valuation "over $1.4 trillion." CNBC also notes that OpenAI filed its prospectus confidentially in June, that chief financial officer **Sarah Friar** told employees in August the company "will be a public company in 2027," and that the following month **Sam Altman** said "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public."

If the reported terms hold, OpenAI would raise about what it was reported to be seeking in September, at a lower headline price, with lead investors in place, while Anthropic prepares to list. Our coverage of [Anthropic's IPO timetable and its WSJ-viewed draft prospectus](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/anthropic-draft-s1-wsj-16-3b-h1-revenue-80-7b-net-loss-450b-commitments) has the latest on that listing.

### Limits of the October 23 update

- Anonymous sourcing: the size, price, leads and signing target come from people familiar with the deal, as reported by CNBC; the UAE compute deal rests on one person. Nothing has closed.
- The $1.25 trillion figure is pre-money, per CNBC. We do not calculate a post-money figure because the final size of the round has not been set.
- TechCrunch's account is a rewrite of CNBC's reporting, not independent confirmation, and we found no second outlet with its own sources on these terms.
- Earlier figures are not on a single basis: The Next Web described Bloomberg's $1.4 trillion as pre-money, while Reuters' "over $1.4 trillion" did not specify.
- We saw no statement from Coatue or the UAE investors. TechCrunch says OpenAI declined to comment; CNBC's story does not say whether it asked.

**Updated October 20, 2026:** Reuters reports OpenAI is racing to lock in the round before Anthropic's mid-November IPO disclosures. The new section directly below covers it; the earlier October 5 and September 29 reports follow, unchanged except that their headings now sit under dated sections.

## October 19–20: racing Anthropic's IPO clock

**OpenAI** is racing to secure investor commitments before rival **Anthropic**'s expected public-market debut in mid-November, in an "**unusually fast**" fundraising that could value the ChatGPT maker at over **$1.4 trillion**, two people familiar with the matter told **Reuters**, as carried by PTI and **BusinessLine** (updated **October 20**, 07:33 IST). SoftBank, Abu Dhabi-based **MGX** and other existing backers are in talks to join the round of about **$30 billion**, one of the people said. OpenAI held meetings with long-only and sovereign wealth funds last week while Anthropic hosted its investor day.

OpenAI is pitching **$50 billion** in annualized revenue rising to **$70 billion** by year-end after GPT-6 Astra, alongside price cuts on cheaper models, according to one of the people. The goal is to close before Anthropic's IPO disclosures invite direct comparison. OpenAI records revenue on a net basis and has accused Anthropic of "grossing up" cloud-resale revenue; Anthropic has said it follows established practice, Reuters reports. OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment; Anthropic and MGX did not respond. OpenAI's last priced round was **$122 billion** at **$852 billion** in March. The Financial Times reported some details first. We covered the [$50B/$70B revenue framing](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/openai-50b-annualized-revenue-vs-70b-signal) separately.

### Limits of the October 19–20 update

- Anonymous sourcing (two people; one for the SoftBank/MGX list). Nothing has closed. This rests on a single Reuters syndication via BusinessLine; the Reuters.com original was not opened. The SOX "$1.6 trillion" figure in the same story is Reuters' and is not independently verified here.

**Updated October 6, 2026:** The September 29 report now has names attached. Bloomberg reported late on **October 5** that OpenAI is in talks with UAE funds led by **MGX** and with **BlackRock** to anchor the round. A new section below covers what changed. The original September 29 report follows it, unchanged except for link formatting and one added Limits line on a conflicting Reuters revenue figure.

## October 5: who is being asked

**Bloomberg** reported that OpenAI is in talks with several **United Arab Emirates** investment funds, including Abu Dhabi-based **MGX**, to help anchor the **$30 billion** round. The funds would invest as a **syndicate** and have discussed putting in **as much as $10 billion together**. **BlackRock** is also in talks to take part. Bloomberg says the fundraise is ongoing and details could change. OpenAI and BlackRock declined to comment, and MGX did not respond.

**The Next Web**, summarising Bloomberg, adds:

- The valuation is about **$1.4 trillion pre-money**.
- OpenAI is presenting that price as **fixed**, and **no lead investor** has been chosen.
- The **University of California’s endowment** and existing investors **Thrive Capital** and **Andreessen Horowitz** have also held talks about participating.
- MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, already holds stakes in **OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI**.

We could read only the opening paragraphs of Bloomberg’s story, which cover the UAE syndicate, the up-to-$10 billion figure and BlackRock. The fixed-price and no-lead details are TNW’s account of Bloomberg and are not directly verified here.

The **$30 billion** size and **~$1.4 trillion** price are not new; they are the September 29 figures below. What is new is the investor list: Gulf sovereign money for up to a third of the round, plus the world’s largest asset manager. Since MGX also backs Anthropic and xAI, one investor would be funding three competing labs. If TNW’s reading is right, a set price with no lead means OpenAI is setting terms rather than negotiating them, which is unusual for a round this size. Separately, SoftBank finished paying in its February-announced [$30 billion follow-on on October 1](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/softbank-openai-third-tranche-complete).

## September 29: the original report

Private markets are being asked to stand in for the listing OpenAI just took off 2026. The ask, if Bloomberg is right, is at least **$30 billion** at roughly a **$1.4 trillion** valuation — bridge money, not an IPO price. TechCrunch’s account is explicit that this is **Bloomberg’s report of talks**, and that OpenAI **did not respond** to a request for comment. Channel News Asia carried the same Bloomberg headline. Nothing has closed.

Two weeks ago the wires were already disagreeing with each other. Times of AI’s [September 15 piece](https://timesof.ai/2026/09/openai-1-2-trillion-funding-talks) tracked early, investor-led discussions at **about $1.2 trillion** (Financial Times, Reuters, Bloomberg) and a next-morning NYT DealBook figure near **$1.5 trillion** for the same conversation. The new number sits between those prints and adds a check size. It does not retire them. Terms in an unconfirmed process move.

### What the secondary reports contain

TechCrunch (Marina Temkin, September 29), citing Bloomberg:

- Talks with investors to raise **at least $30 billion** in a **pre-IPO** round at **roughly $1.4 trillion**.
- The round, **if it happens**, is a **bridge to an IPO** after **Sam Altman** ruled out a 2026 debut in order to put safety first.
- Last priced raise: **$122 billion in March at an $852 billion valuation**, described as what had been expected to be the last private round before a listing this year.
- Run-rate revenue of **$40 billion in August**, after a jump of about **70% since July**, which TechCrunch attributes to a refocus on areas such as coding. That revenue line is Bloomberg’s, via TechCrunch, not an OpenAI filing.

TechCrunch also relays a recent **Fortune** quote from Altman: “I think it is unacceptable to be taking like a 10% chance of killing everybody by the end of the decade.” A safety rationale is sitting next to a trillion-plus raise. The sentence is not evidence the round is done, and it is not a risk estimate this desk is endorsing. It is what he told Fortune, as TechCrunch reprints it.

The [June lean toward a 2027 IPO](https://timesof.ai/2026/06/openai-leans-toward-2027-ipo) is the older public frame: a later listing, at a larger story, rather than a faster smaller one. Altman’s 2026 “no” makes the bridge the financing event of this autumn **only if investors fund it**. DevDay’s company usage claims are in market the same day. They are not in the reported term sheet, and they are not audited revenue.

### How to read the stack

| Marker | Status |
| --- | --- |
| March 2026 round | Priced: **$122 billion** at **$852 billion** |
| Mid-September talks | Reported, conflicting: **about $1.2 trillion** or **about $1.5 trillion**; OpenAI declined comment then too |
| September 29 | Bloomberg via TechCrunch and CNA: **at least $30 billion** at **about $1.4 trillion**, called a bridge; **no company comment** |
| August run-rate | **about $40 billion**, Bloomberg via secondary copy; not a filing line |

Anthropic’s prospectus story the day before is the comparator investors will use: another lab, also not yet public, with a reported valuation hope above $2 trillion and a 2025 loss that is mostly a financing mark. OpenAI’s bridge, if real, sets a private mark before either prospectus is something the public can read.

## Limits

- Still unconfirmed talks as of October 6. Size, valuation, investor list and the “bridge” label can change or disappear.
- The MGX/BlackRock update rests on Bloomberg (partially readable) and TNW’s summary of it; the fixed-price and no-lead details are TNW’s.
- No MGX, UAE-syndicate or BlackRock amount is a commitment; “up to $10 billion” is what the funds have discussed.
- Wire of a wire: TechCrunch and CNA are conveying Bloomberg. We did not read a Bloomberg terminal story.
- The **$40 billion** August run-rate and the **70%** jump are secondhand. No OpenAI revenue release this week confirms them.
- Reuters, in a CNA brief the same day, put OpenAI’s annualized run-rate revenue **nearing $70 billion**, up more than 70% since the start of the third quarter. That conflicts with Bloomberg’s $40 billion figure via TechCrunch, and neither is an OpenAI disclosure.
- Altman’s Fortune line is about catastrophic risk, not about round terms.

## Sources

- [CNBC: OpenAI pares fundraising goal, now seeking up to $20 billion in latest round (October 31, 2026)](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/31/openai-fundraising-20-billion-valuation.html)
- [Investing.com: OpenAI raises just $11bn of $30bn target as AI investor appetite cools - WSJ (October 31, 2026)](https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/openai-raises-just-11bn-of-30bn-target-as-ai-investor-appetite-cools--wsj-4989165)
- [CNBC: OpenAI nears funding round at $1.25T valuation led by UAE investors (October 22, 2026)](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/22/openai-funding-round-uae-investors.html)
- [TechCrunch: OpenAI working on new $30B raise at $1.25T valuation ahead of IPO (October 22, 2026)](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/22/openai-working-on-new-30b-raise-at-1-25t-valuation-ahead-of-ipo/)
- [Times of AI: Anthropic Files Its Public S-1 (Nasdaq: ANT), Confirming the WSJ-Viewed Draft's $16.3B Revenue and $80.7B Loss; Some Relayed Commitment Figures Differ (October 21, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/anthropic-draft-s1-wsj-16-3b-h1-revenue-80-7b-net-loss-450b-commitments)
- [Reuters via PTI/BusinessLine: OpenAI seeks $30 billion funding at $1.4 trillion valuation ahead of Anthropic IPO (October 20, 2026)](https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/openai-seeks-30-billion-funding-at-14-trillion-valuation-ahead-of-anthropic-ipo/article71603118.ece)
- [Times of AI: OpenAI $50B/$70B annualized revenue (October 9, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/openai-50b-annualized-revenue-vs-70b-signal)
- [TechCrunch: OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise $30B at a $1.4T valuation (September 29, 2026)](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/29/openai-reportedly-in-talks-to-raise-30b-round-at-1-4t-valuation/)
- [CNA / Bloomberg: OpenAI targets $30 billion funding at $1.4 trillion valuation (September 29, 2026)](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/openai-targets-30-billion-funding-14-trillion-valuation-bloomberg-news-reports-6419526)
- [Bloomberg Law / Bloomberg News: OpenAI in $30 billion round talks with UAE funds, BlackRock (October 5, 2026)](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-in-talks-with-uae-funds-blackrock-for-30-billion-round)
- [The Next Web: OpenAI is in talks with Abu Dhabi’s MGX and BlackRock for a $30B round (October 5, 2026)](https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-30bn-mgx-blackrock-europe)
- [Times of AI: SoftBank closes $30B OpenAI follow-on (October 1, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/softbank-openai-third-tranche-complete)
- [Times of AI: $1.2T–$1.5T talks, not a priced round (September 15, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/09/openai-1-2-trillion-funding-talks)
- [Times of AI: OpenAI’s lean toward a 2027 IPO (June 25, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/06/openai-leans-toward-2027-ipo)
- [Reuters via CNA: OpenAI slashes funding target by $10 billion amid tech rout, FT reports (October 31, 2026)](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/openai-cuts-funding-target-10-billion-ft-reports-6508816)
- [Investing.com: OpenAI cuts funding target by $10 billion to $20 billion - FT (October 30, 2026)](https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/openai-cuts-funding-target-by-10-billion-to-20-billion--ft-4989018)