OpenAI raises $11 billion for a valuation of $1.25 trillion

OpenAI raised $11 billion in the first close of a funding round valuing the company at $1.25 trillion. This operation, carried out on Friday November 6, 2026, marks an important step for the leader in artificial intelligence, but it was carried out at a valuation lower than the initially targeted objective of 1,400 billion dollars. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar confirmed the $1.25 trillion valuation during a television interview.

According to press reports, OpenAI initially sought to raise $30 billion or more at a valuation of $1.4 trillion. The amount raised covers approximately 37% of the initial objective. Among the investors who participated in this first tranche are SoftBank and MGX from Abu Dhabi. The second part of the funding round could bring the total to $20 billion, with a potential follow-up of up to another $9 billion. However, the second part of OpenAI's funding round is not yet finalized.

The resulting valuation would represent an increase of approximately 46.7% compared to March, when OpenAI raised $122 billion at a valuation of $852 billion, but this estimate remains rough, with the current valuation being pre-money and the basis for comparison from March being unclear. Despite this progress, the company must contend with an AI market that is experiencing cooling investor appetite, with falling private valuations and more uncertain IPO prospects. This context partly explains why the fundraising took place at a valuation lower than initial expectations.

Competition remains strong in the sector. Anthropic, a rival to OpenAI, plans an IPO on Nasdaq in mid-November, with a valuation estimated by some investors at around $1.5 trillion, down from the $2 trillion previously expected.

Rapid growth, dependence on financing

Despite this more cautious climate, OpenAI continues to show strong growth. Sarah Friar said OpenAI's business grew 70% quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter. She also noted that OpenAI's enterprise business has doubled and revenue is split equally between the consumer and enterprise segments. Friar cited ChatGPT's 1.2 billion weekly users and a $1 billion ad run rate in August.

This rapid growth dynamic, however, is accompanied by a strong dependence on financing to support expansion and technological investments. Microsoft is particularly concerned about OpenAI's valuation, which affects its bottom line, while NVIDIA is exposed to OpenAI's ability to finance its plans. Microsoft posted a gain of $207 million on its OpenAI stake in the third quarter, compared to a net loss of $3.1 billion a year earlier. NVIDIA said OpenAI's current and planned commitments represent approximately 12 gigawatts of its computing capacity.

Machine-translated from French