Analysis
OpenAI has raised $15 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, CNBC's David Faber reported on November 12, citing people familiar with the matter, as relayed by Dealroom. OpenAI first went to investors seeking as much as $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, so the reported raise is half the original target at a lower price. OpenAI has not announced the round. Per Dealroom, it has not formally closed and is expected to wrap up within the next couple of weeks.
What changed since Pulse's last OpenAI funding report
On November 9 Pulse reported that OpenAI had closed an $11 billion first tranche at $1.25 trillion, with the round then aiming for roughly $20 billion in total, down from the as much as $30 billion OpenAI first sought.
The new figure is $15 billion: half the original $30 billion ask and below the later $20 billion aim.
“The new figure is $15 billion: half the original $30 billion ask and below the later $20 billion aim.”
The valuation has not moved from the first tranche's $1.25 trillion, which was already below the $1.4 trillion OpenAI first pitched. Neither CNBC nor Tech Funding News says whether the $15 billion includes the $11 billion Bloomberg reported on November 6, so the two figures should not be added together.
The basis of the valuation is also unsettled. Tech Funding News writes that CNBC described $1.25 trillion as a pre-money figure, while CNBC's October 31 report said OpenAI would seek a post-money valuation of $1.25 trillion. If it is pre-money, $15 billion of new money would put the post-money value near $1.265 trillion. The difference is small, but it decides which number goes on the cap table.
How much has OpenAI raised?
Before this round, OpenAI's last priced round was the $122 billion March 2026 raise led by a broad syndicate.
Value Add VC data
- Mar 2026, funding round -- $122B at $852B post-money, co-led by SoftBank with Andreessen Horowitz, D. E. Shaw Ventures, MGX and TPG among the co-leads (Yahoo Finance)
- Nov 2026, new round -- $15B at $1.25T, as reported by CNBC; lead not reported (Dealroom)
The $1.25 trillion mark is about 1.47 times the $852 billion March valuation, which Dealroom also puts at about 47% higher.
Per Faber's reporting as relayed by Dealroom, OpenAI has so far taken about $30 billion from Nvidia and about $65 billion from SoftBank across its funding.
CNBC reported on October 31 that investors from the United Arab Emirates were leading the round alongside Coatue; no report we opened names the leads of the $15 billion figure.
Why OpenAI took less money
People familiar with the deal described it as an opportunistic raise to bridge OpenAI to an initial public offering expected in 2027, per Dealroom. The business is growing quickly: CNBC puts third-quarter revenue at about $10 billion, nearly 50% more than the previous quarter.
But the Wall Street Journal reported a third-quarter operating loss of about $10.9 billion, which Pulse covered in OpenAI's quarterly revenue story. Halving the raise while keeping the first tranche's price suggests investors were willing to pay $1.25 trillion but not to put $30 billion to work at it. That is our reading; no source has said why the round shrank.
OpenAI versus the Anthropic IPO
The timing matters because Anthropic is about to set a public price for the same market. Anthropic plans to sell 825 million shares at $70 to $78 each, raising up to $64.4 billion, per Tech Funding News citing Yahoo Finance, and could start trading on Nasdaq under ANT as soon as November 19 or 20, per the Wall Street Journal. Pulse has tracked the six-times-oversubscribed Anthropic order book. Once Anthropic trades, OpenAI's private $1.25 trillion mark will sit next to a daily public price for its closest rival, and whatever that price is becomes the comparison for the round's remaining closes and for OpenAI's own 2027 listing.
