OpenAI Races $30 Billion Raise at $1.4 Trillion Valuation Ahead of Anthropic IPO
The most expensive race in technology history just shifted into a higher gear. OpenAI is rushing to lock down roughly $30 billion in fresh funding at a valuation above $1.4 trillion — and the reason it's hurrying, according to people familiar with the matter, is sitting right across the table: Anthropic is heading for an IPO in November. Reuters first reported the fundraising push on Monday, describing an "unusually fast" process for an offering of its size. Existing backers including SoftBank Group and Abu Dhabi-based MGX are in talks to join the round, sources told Reuters. The message is unmistakable: both AI labs are now competing for the same pool of sovereign wealth funds and long-only investors, and neither wants to be the one left holding a term sheet nobody signed. Why OpenAI is rushing The accelerated timetable reflects two pressures at once. First, the labs are courting the same investors. Reuters reports that OpenAI met with long-only funds and soverei...