OpenAI Closes $11 Billion of a New Round at a $1.25 Trillion Valuation, Per Headline Wire

Context

zerohedge posted the wire headline on Friday afternoon. Bloomberg reported, as relayed by Rohan Paul, that investors wired the money that day and that this is the first tranche of a larger round. The close came as SoftBank, one of OpenAI's largest backers, kept falling.

Deep dive

A headline carried by zerohedge on Friday said OpenAI closed $11 billion of a new funding round at a $1.25 trillion valuation. Rohan Paul, citing Bloomberg, described it as the first tranche of the round and said investors had wired the cash that day, with the rest expected later. OpenAI had not commented on X at the time of the scan.

The timing stands out. On Thursday and Friday AI stocks sold off after Democratic midterm wins raised fears of tighter rules on data centers and AI. SoftBank, which holds a large OpenAI stake, fell another 10.8% on Friday. Closing billions in fresh money at a higher mark during that selloff suggests private investors still see OpenAI's growth as worth paying for.

The same day OpenAI's CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC the midterm results did not dramatically change the company's plans, according to posts relaying the interview. The size of the full round and the names of the investors in this tranche were not part of the headline.

What to expect next

Watch for the full round size, the investor list and whether later tranches close at the same price.

Also watch how this mark compares with Anthropic's IPO target of $1.5 trillion, and whether public market weakness in AI names pushes later investors to ask for better terms. A confirmation from OpenAI itself, with the share of the round that is now closed, would settle how much of the headline is final.