OpenAI's $1.25T raise would make it the priciest private company

OpenAI is pricing itself above $1 trillion before it goes public, and the number would make it the highest-valued private company ever. The company is reportedly working on a raise of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, according to sources who spoke to CNBC. TechCrunch reported the story on 22 October.

Coatue is reported to lead the round, with investors from the UAE also taking part. CNBC says the UAE money could be tied to a deal for more computing capacity for OpenAI. If so, part of the capital would arrive alongside the infrastructure it is meant to buy.

The figure is lower than an earlier report. Bloomberg said a month ago that OpenAI was seeking $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation. The raise size is unchanged, but the reported valuation is now $1.25 trillion pre-money. Terms are still being negotiated, so details could change. OpenAI declined to comment.

The step up from OpenAI's last round is large. Its March raise valued it at $852 billion post-money. The company filed confidentially for an IPO in June.

Its closest rival is on a similar track. Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in May and also filed confidentially for an IPO in June. CNBC reports it is seeking $1.5 to $2 trillion for its debut.

This round looks like a pre-IPO price-setting exercise. A lead investor such as Coatue puts a $1.25 trillion mark on the books before public investors weigh in, and that anchors the listing conversation. The reported drop from Bloomberg's $1.4 trillion suggests the number is still moving.

The comparison with Anthropic is the one to watch. Anthropic's last private mark of $965 billion sits below OpenAI's reported figure, yet its reported IPO ambition of $1.5 to $2 trillion is higher than anything attached to OpenAI so far. Both filed in June, so the two will be measured against each other.

The UAE link matters for the compute side. If CNBC is right, the investors are also suppliers of capacity, which ties funding to infrastructure. Watch whether final terms confirm that link, and whether the valuation settles nearer $1.25 trillion or the earlier figure.