OpenAI closed a record $122 billion funding round ahead of its IPO
ChatGPT developer could list in the fourth quarter of 2026
Open AI has closed closed a record funding round / Photo: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com
OpenAI - the developer of ChatGPT - said Tuesday it has closed a $122 billion funding round at a company-wide valuation of $852 billion.CNBC called the round a record.
Details
The total capital raised is up from the $110 billion OpenAI announced in February. The round was led by SoftBank and a number of other investors, including D. E. Shaw Ventures, OpenAI reported. Amazon and Nvidia also participated, with "further participation" from OpenAI's largest investor, Microsoft.
"This funding gives us the resources to continue to lead at the scale that the current moment demands," the company said.
In February, OpenAI first disclosed $110 billion in commitments from key strategic investors that formed the basis of the round. Amazon was to invest up to $50 billion, Nvidia - $30 billion, and SoftBank - $30 billion. At the same time, Nvidia in early March announced that this is probably its last investment in OpenAI in connection with the upcoming IPO of the company. The size of Microsoft's investment within the round is not specified. As of the end of 2025, Microsoft's investments in the startup were estimated at more than $13 billion.
OpenAI raised an additional $12 billion from a wider range of investors, according to a press release. The company said it expanded participation through banking channels for the first time and raised $3 billion from private investors.
What does that mean
After the round, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be under pressure to justify such a high valuation of the company, especially as it prepares for a potential IPO, CNBC notes. In recent months, the startup has been scaling back some of its large-scale spending and shutting down certain features and products, including short video generation app Sora, in an effort to cut costs.
OpenAI reported Tuesday that it is generating $2 billion in revenue per month. Last year's figure was $13.1 billion, and the company remains unprofitable, CNBC noted.
OpenAI is preparing for an IPO in the fourth quarter of 2026, sources told The Wall Street Journal in late January. The company is accelerating its IPO preparations amid intensifying competition with Anthropic, the Claude artificial intelligence developer, which also plans to go public in 2026.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
