OpenAI Cuts Its Current Funding Target to $20 Billion
OpenAI has lowered its funding target for its current round to $20 billion, according to the Financial Times, which reported the change on Friday. The company had previously been reported to be seeking $30 billion.
Bloomberg, citing the FT, reports that OpenAI is now seeking about $20 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation. The FT also reported that the first close of the round, the point at which the first committed money is formally accepted, is expected to come in below $20 billion. The Information put the reduction at $10 billion.
The round is to be led by a group of investors from the United Arab Emirates, per the FT. In October, reporting had named Coatue alongside UAE investors as leads on a raise of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, meaning the value assigned to the company before new cash comes in. The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI has secured $11 billion so far in the round and describes the response from some large investors as tepid. A subsequent retail offering to wealthy individuals could bring total funding to the $20 billion target, according to TechCrunch's report of the FT story.
The earlier figures differ in structure as well as size. In late September, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was targeting $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, and Reuters relayed that report. That $1.4 trillion figure did not include the money raised in the round. The $1.25 trillion figure now in circulation is the same valuation level that appeared in October reporting, so the change in the headline number since September is largely a change in the amount being raised.
For comparison, OpenAI said in a company post dated March 31 that it had closed a funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, which includes the new money. Earlier, in January 2025, the company was reported to be in talks to raise up to $40 billion at a $340 billion valuation, with SoftBank leading. The sequence of reported valuations and round sizes over roughly two years is steep, and the current round is being assembled against a different market.
Bloomberg's headline on the story linked the reduced target to a dip in AI stocks, attributing that framing to the FT. The reduced target is reported as a decision by the company, not as a response to any specific investor action.
In my view, the most useful number for practitioners is the gap between the $11 billion reported as secured and the $20 billion target. That gap is what the retail tranche has to fill, and it is the part of the round most dependent on demand that has not yet been demonstrated among large institutional investors. A smaller round at a $1.25 trillion valuation also means the company's capital plan, compute commitments and IPO preparation, all reported elsewhere in the coverage, will be read against a different set of numbers than the ones reported in September.
The broader context here is the largest private AI lab's financing, which is now being described in smaller and more conditional terms. What the lower target means for training budgets, inference capacity (the computing capacity needed to serve model queries) and hiring plans is not stated in the reporting. Readers should weigh the funding figures as they are reported rather than as a forecast of spending.
