OpenAI pre IPO valuation talks reach $1.2 trillion, up 41% in months

OpenAI is quietly negotiating one of the biggest private valuations ever floated for a technology company, and the number on the table has stunned even seasoned investors: roughly $1.2 trillion. According to Reuters, which cited reporting from the Financial Times, the ChatGPT maker has held early talks with major investors about a funding round that would push its OpenAI pre-IPO valuation well past its previous benchmark, all before the company even sets a date to go public.

Key takeaways

• OpenAI is in early talks for a funding round that could value the company at around $1.2 trillion before an IPO, according to Reuters citing the Financial Times.
• That figure would mark a 41% jump from the $852 billion post-money valuation OpenAI reached in its March funding round.
• Investors approached OpenAI first, according to Reuters — the company did not initiate the talks.
• OpenAI’s monthly revenue stood at $2 billion earlier this year, with enterprise clients responsible for more than 40% of that total.
• Rival Anthropic currently carries a higher pre-IPO tracker valuation than OpenAI, at $1.48 trillion versus $903.29 billion, per DefiLlama data from September 14.

OpenAI’s Pre-IPO Funding Talks and Valuation Surge

The headline figure answers the immediate question — yes, OpenAI is exploring a round that could value it near $1.2 trillion — but the more interesting detail is who’s driving the conversation. Reuters reported that investors reached out to OpenAI, not the other way around, suggesting there’s no shortage of capital chasing a stake in the company even at eye-watering prices.

The talks remain at an early stage, and the eventual number could shift before anything is finalized. OpenAI did not respond when asked for comment on the discussions.

What makes the jump notable is the timeline. Back in March, OpenAI closed a round that raised $122 billion in committed capital, landing the company an $852 billion post-money valuation. That round drew backing from Amazon, NVIDIA, and SoftBank, with longtime partner Microsoft also participating, plus another $3 billion pulled in through bank channels. If the $1.2 trillion figure holds, it represents a 41% increase in less than six months — a pace of valuation growth that outstrips almost anything seen in prior generations of private tech companies.

OpenAI’s Revenue and Market Position Compared to Anthropic

OpenAI’s case for a trillion-dollar-plus valuation rests heavily on enterprise demand. At the time of its March round, the company disclosed it was generating $2 billion in revenue every month, with enterprise customers accounting for over 40% of that figure — and it expected similar levels to hold through year-end.

Yet even with those numbers, OpenAI isn’t the most richly valued name in the room. DefiLlama’s pre-IPO tracker put Anthropic‘s estimated valuation at $1.48 trillion as of September 14, compared to $903.29 billion for OpenAI — figures that reflect pre-IPO market estimates rather than confirmed funding-round terms. That gap puts Anthropic roughly 64% ahead of OpenAI on paper. If OpenAI’s proposed $1.2 trillion figure were applied while Anthropic’s estimate stayed flat, the gap would shrink to closer to 23%, underscoring just how quickly a single mega-round can reshuffle the private-market pecking order.

Anthropic’s own numbers are climbing fast

Anthropic hit $65 billion in annualized revenue in July, a sevenfold jump from a year earlier, CNBC reported, and the company has told some shareholders it expects to post an operating profit for a second straight quarter. Anthropic was valued at $965 billion earlier this year, according to CNBC, and could reportedly seek a valuation near $2 trillion when it eventually lists. That kind of growth trajectory helps explain why investors have been willing to price Anthropic above OpenAI in secondary markets, even as OpenAI pushes for a valuation reset of its own.

Global AI Investment Landscape and Market Dynamics

Neither company’s numbers exist in a vacuum — they’re riding a broader capital wave. Goldman Sachs Research forecasts that global AI investment will surpass $1 trillion in 2026, with $581 billion of that flowing into the United States alone. Gartner separately expects worldwide spending on AI platforms and models to hit $64.25 billion, a 63.4% jump from 2025.

That said, the enthusiasm comes with caveats. “Enterprise AI budgets are coming under greater scrutiny, with increased focus on usage efficiency, cost control and measurable outcomes,” said Arunasree Cheparthi, an analyst at Gartner. This matters because it signals that even as infrastructure spending accelerates, the companies writing the checks are asking harder questions about return on investment — a tension that could eventually cap how far private valuations can climb.

A McKinsey survey found that 40% of respondents at large companies are actively deploying AI agents, compared to just 22% at smaller firms — evidence that adoption is concentrating among enterprises with the biggest budgets. The OECD has also flagged that AI hardware and data resources remain concentrated among a small number of entities, a dynamic that shapes who benefits most as the industry scales.

Regulatory Stance and IPO Implications for AI Frontier Companies

OpenAI and Anthropic have both publicly backed stronger oversight of more powerful AI systems. That stance surfaced again in September, when Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay urging the AI industry to slow the pace of model development, proposing that frontier labs open themselves to third-party evaluation and establish shared safety standards. Sam Altman voiced support for the idea, and OpenAI has separately reiterated that it won’t pursue an IPO in 2026, with Altman calling this “an ill-advised moment to go public” and OpenAI’s finance chief telling staff the company expects to be public in 2027.

Anthropic, meanwhile, has confidentially filed its own IPO prospectus and has reportedly selected the Nasdaq as its listing venue, according to Business Insider and CNBC. Reuters has indicated Anthropic could begin marketing an IPO as early as mid-October and complete the listing before the November midterm elections — positioning it to test public-market appetite for frontier AI companies before OpenAI does.

Why the IPO may matter less than the private price tag

Forge Global argues that for companies already worth more than $100 billion, most of the meaningful value creation now happens while they’re still private. In practice, that reframes an eventual listing less as a growth catalyst and more as a liquidity event for existing shareholders. Seen that way, OpenAI’s $1.2 trillion talks say less about what a future IPO might unlock and more about how much private investors are already willing to pay before one ever happens.

Forge Global’s data shows how unusually fast this generation of AI companies has crossed the $100 billion threshold: xAI reached it in 2.3 years and Anthropic in about 4.5 years, compared with roughly 16 years for private companies founded before 2011. That compressed timeline is itself a signal — investors aren’t waiting for public markets to validate these businesses, they’re pricing in future dominance well ahead of any listing.

FAQ

What valuation is OpenAI negotiating for in its pre-IPO funding round?

OpenAI is negotiating a funding round that could value the company at around $1.2 trillion before an IPO.

How does OpenAI’s proposed valuation compare to its valuation in March 2026?

The proposed valuation of $1.2 trillion represents a 41% increase from the $852 billion post-money valuation OpenAI reached in its March 2026 round.

What portion of OpenAI’s revenue comes from enterprise clients?

Enterprise clients contribute over 40% of OpenAI’s $2 billion in monthly revenue.

Why might the IPOs of large AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic be considered liquidity events?

Forge Global suggests these IPOs may mainly provide liquidity for existing investors rather than significantly increasing company valuations, since much of the value creation for companies already worth over $100 billion happens while they remain private.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.