OpenAI Reportedly Seeking $100 Billion Funding at $830 Billion Valuation
OpenAI is reportedly negotiating a historic $100 billion funding round that could value the company at $830 billion. The capital is intended to fund massive infrastructure projects, including new data centers and specialized chips, to secure its lead in the race for Artificial General Intelligence.
OpenAI is reportedly in the early stages of raising a massive new round of funding, aiming for up to $100 billion, which could value the company at approximately $830 billion.
This news comes from a Wall Street Journal report released this week, marking one of the most ambitious fundraising efforts in tech history. To put this in perspective, this valuation would make OpenAI more valuable than companies like Tesla were just recently, and ranks it just below giants like Microsoft and Apple.
Why do they need so much money?
The primary driver behind this massive number is computing power. Building and training the next generation of AI models requires specialized chips (GPUs) and massive data centers that are incredibly expensive.
- Infrastructure Costs: OpenAI isn't just building software anymore; they are heavily involved in physical infrastructure. Reports indicate they are planning massive data center projects (often linked to the $500 billion "Stargate" project) to support future AI models that are far more capable than today's GPT-4 or o1.
- Competition: Tech giants like Google (recently launching Gemini 3) and Amazon are pouring tens of billions into their own AI infrastructure. To stay ahead, OpenAI needs a "war chest" of capital that rivals the cash reserves of these trillion-dollar companies.
- Burn Rate: Running current models for hundreds of millions of users is expensive. The company is reportedly projecting significant financial losses, potentially up to $14 billion in 2026, as they prioritize growth and research over immediate profit.
The Rapid Rise in Valuation
If this deal goes through, it represents a staggering jump in OpenAI's value in a very short time:
- Oct 2024: Valued at roughly $157 billion.
- Oct 2025: Valued at roughly $500 billion (following a secondary share sale).
- Dec 2025 (Proposed): Targeting $830 billion according to Dataconomy.
Who is funding this?
While specific investors for this $100 billion round haven't been finalized, reports suggest OpenAI is courting:
- Sovereign Wealth Funds: Particularly from the Middle East (such as MGX in the UAE).
- Tech Partners: SoftBank has reportedly committed billions, and discussions are ongoing with Amazon for a potential $10 billion investment involving their Trainium chips.
- Media Giants: Even Disney has been cited as a potential strategic investor.
What this means for the industry
This move signals that the "AI Arms Race" is shifting from a software battle to an industrial-scale infrastructure battle. It suggests that OpenAI believes the path to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is strictly bound by how much computing power they can amass, and they are willing to raise unprecedented amounts of cash to prove it.
