OpenAI is working to lock in roughly $30 billion in new funding before rival Anthropic’s expected stock market debut in mid-November, Reuters reported on October 20. The round could value the ChatGPT maker above $1.4 trillion.
SoftBank Group and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, both existing investors, are said to be in talks to participate. Reuters reports that OpenAI has also met with sovereign wealth funds and long-only funds. Because both AI companies are courting many of the same backers, an earlier close could help OpenAI before investor attention shifts to Anthropic.
The company told investors its annualised revenue reached nearly $50 billion at the end of September and could hit $70 billion by year-end, according to the report, which links the growth to its GPT-6 Astra model. OpenAI’s March financing raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation, which included up to $50 billion from Amazon.
Anthropic’s third-quarter revenue rose to $16.8 billion from $11.6 billion in the second quarter, per the report. Anthropic is expected to list in mid-November, while OpenAI has pushed its IPO plans to 2027 over AI safety concerns.
The funding race mirrors the product race between the labs’ flagship assistants. Read our Claude vs Gemini comparison, or try the tools themselves: Claude and Gemini.
Source: MoneyCheck (reporting Reuters)
