OpenAI Rushes $30B Funding Round at $1.4T Valuation Ahead of Anthropic IPO

OpenAI is accelerating efforts to secure approximately $30 billion in new funding at a potential valuation exceeding $1.4 trillion, according to people familiar with the matter. The accelerated timeline is designed to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic’s expected mid-November initial public offering forces direct financial comparisons. OpenAI is currently pitching investors on an annualized revenue of $50 billion, which it projects will reach $70 billion by the end of the year following the launch of its GPT-6 Astra model. Anthropic reported $16.8 billion in third-quarter revenue, reaching an annualized revenue of approximately $65 billion by July, though its month-to-month growth has recently slowed. The fundraising push coincides with broader market volatility, as investors increasingly scrutinize the debt-financed infrastructure required to develop and operate frontier AI models.