OpenAI reportedly raises an additional $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation

OpenAI has secured $11 billion so far in a new funding round that values the company at $1.25 trillion, TechCrunch reports, relaying a Friday Bloomberg story based on sources familiar with the matter. The round has not closed. A source told Bloomberg it should wrap up in the coming weeks and could reach about $20 billion, well below the $30 billion Bloomberg said in late September that OpenAI was seeking. TechCrunch says it asked OpenAI for comment.

The report landed hours after another Bloomberg story about Anthropic, OpenAI's main rival, which is preparing an IPO. According to that account, some prospective share buyers think Anthropic could be valued as low as $1.1 trillion, compared with the $2 trillion investors were said to expect about a month earlier.

OpenAI had suggested it would go public this year but pushed those plans back, and TechCrunch says a listing is expected at some point next year.

TechCrunch frames both developments as signs of a shaky moment for the AI market. It points to the Democratic landslide in the U.S. midterms and strongly negative voter sentiment toward data centers, which it says have unsettled investors, with many anticipating regulatory challenges ahead. A smaller-than-sought raise for OpenAI and softer expectations for Anthropic suggest that appetite at trillion-dollar valuations may be facing tougher scrutiny.