FundraiseNov 6, 2026, 20:58 UTC

OpenAI closes first $11B tranche at $1.25T valuation

What's the deal? OpenAI has closed on roughly $11 billion in new funding, the first portion of a round that values the company at $1.25 trillion, with the money wired as of Friday 6 November 2026, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The rest of the round, which could rise to as much as $20 billion, is expected to finish in the coming weeks. OpenAI declined to comment; Reuters separately confirmed the Bloomberg account.

How the book shrank: OpenAI had spent more than a month raising after delaying its IPO plans. It first sought $30 billion or more at a $1.4 trillion valuation, then cut the target to about $20 billion at $1.25 trillion as public AI stocks sold off and investors fretted about data-centre spend and post-midterm build-out risk. The first close landing at about $11 billion, less than half the original ask, is the clearest sign yet that even frontier labs are negotiating against a cooler market. In March OpenAI closed a record $122 billion round at an $852 billion valuation.

Who's in the first close: Investors that contributed include Coatue Management and T. Rowe Price, Bloomberg said. Other participants in the round include SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz, plus a UAE syndicate that earlier reporting linked to MGX. SoftBank, Founders Fund and T. Rowe Price declined to comment; Coatue, Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia did not immediately respond. OpenAI is also working with banks to raise from high-net-worth and retail investors.

Why it matters: A wired $11 billion first close at $1.25 trillion resets the private price for the ChatGPT maker just as rival Anthropic's IPO book is also being re-priced lower in the same AI sell-off. It is still one of the largest single private AI closings of 2026, but well below the $30 billion-plus ambition OpenAI floated weeks ago.

Image credit: OpenAI