OpenAI is committed to securing investor commitments before its competitor Anthropic enters the stock market, which is expected in mid-November. A new funding round could value the owner of ChatGPT at over US$1.4 trillion (approximately R$7.63 trillion), according to sources familiar with the matter reported by Reuters.
This fundraising is expected to raise about US$30 billion (equivalent to R$163.5 billion). Investors involved in the stake negotiation include SoftBank Group, the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX, and other current OpenAI supporters.
According to the agency's sources, the company wants to finalize this operation quickly, partly to get ahead of Anthropic. Both artificial intelligence developers are competing for a similar pool of investors while aiming for trillion-dollar valuations.
OpenAI held meetings with long-term investment funds and sovereign wealth funds last week, while Anthropic promoted its own events with investors. The ChatGPT owner's round is expected to progress faster than usual for a transaction of this magnitude.
Despite the progress, Anthropic's reduction in monthly revenue growth has raised doubts among investors about its valuation. OpenAI intends to conclude the fundraising before the rival's financial reports provide more details and stimulate direct comparisons between the businesses.
This data may also lead investors to demand more detailed information from Sarah Friar, OpenAI's CFO, regarding revenue growth and company projections. The two corporations use distinct methods for recording revenue; OpenAI accounts for net values, deducting the partner's share beforehand. The company has already accused Anthropic of overstating its revenue by recording the gross value of contracts sold through third-party cloud providers, although Anthropic told Reuters that it follows established accounting practices.
Edward Best, co-president of capital markets at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who is not participating in the deal, commented hypothetically to Reuters that it is a 'race between two companies in terms of capital raising.' OpenAI had been valued at US$852 billion (about R$4.64 trillion) in March, following a record funding round of US$122 billion (about R$664.9 billion), which included an investment commitment from Amazon of up to US$50 billion (about R$272.5 billion).
In addition to trying to preempt the competitor, OpenAI needs capital to meet its infrastructure commitments and strengthen its balance sheet. This need becomes more relevant if a deterioration in IPO market conditions delays the company's capital opening, scheduled for 2027.
Although there is strong demand for both companies' shares, investors must analyze and allocate resources between two complex and competing operations in a short period, of just a few weeks or days. Some sources spoken to by Reuters suggest that OpenAI's initiative aims to capture funds that could otherwise be directed in greater proportion to Anthropic's public offering.
However, the current landscape is marked by greater caution. Technology stock volatility, rising bond yields, and concerns regarding AI security are impacting investor interest. The infrastructure costs necessary to sustain AI advancement, including debt financing for data centers, are also under scrutiny.
Anthropic's valuation itself is being questioned. Some current and potential investors have advocated for a value close to US$1.5 trillion (about R$8.18 trillion) for the stock debut, which is lower than the desired US$2 trillion (about R$10.9 trillion) after third-quarter results fell below expectations.
This instability has affected other companies planning to go public. Companies and financial institutions have postponed offerings to avoid competing for investor attention with Anthropic in a volatile market pressured by falling AI-related stocks. Among the concerns is CoreWeave, a cloud service provider, whose shares and debt fell last week as investors examined nearly US$50 billion (about R$272.5 billion) in loans earmarked for its expansion.
Companies such as AirTrunk REIT, supported by Blackstone, Firmus, backed by Nvidia, and SB Energy, with support from SoftBank, suspended or withdrew their IPO plans. The nuclear services company Holtec also canceled an offering in the United States last month, citing a combination of unfavorable factors, mainly uncertainty about data center demand. In less than two weeks, companies in the Philadelphia Semiconductor index, used as a benchmark for AI-related semiconductor demand, lost US$1.6 trillion (about R$8.72 trillion) in market value.