‘Two-horse race’: OpenAI seeks to accelerate fundraising ahead of Anthropic IPO, sources say
Move may be a bid to lock in capital that could otherwise go to its rival’s offering, say investors
OpenAI is pushing to secure investor commitments ahead of Anthropic's anticipated IPO in mid-November, according to sources. The two AI giants are competing for a similar investor base and aim to reach a valuation of over US$1.4 trillion for OpenAI. SoftBank Group, MGX, and other existing backers of OpenAI are in talks to join the round, which could raise around US$30 billion.
The accelerated fundraising reflects OpenAI's desire to capitalize on recent revenue growth following the launch of new models like GPT-6 Astra, which has generated US$50 billion in annualized revenue, with expectations to reach US$70 billion by the end of 2026. Investors are concerned about rising interest rates, technology stock volatility, and AI valuation scrutiny.
OpenAI held meetings with long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds while Anthropic hosted its own investor day. The funding round is expected to move faster than typical for its size, driven by the need to fund infrastructure commitments and bolster the balance sheet if IPO markets delay OpenAI's 2027 listing. Some investors view OpenAI's move as an attempt to lock in capital from funds that might otherwise prioritize Anthropic's IPO.
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- OpenAI seeks to accelerate fundraising ahead of Anthropic IPO, sources say straitstimes.com
- OpenAI races to raise $30 bln ahead of Anthropic IPO, Reuters reports investing.com
- Sources: Eric Schmidt, who owns ~1% of Anthropic after investing tens of millions in its Series A, is poised to have one of the largest windfalls from its IPO (Bloomberg) bloomberg.com
