OpenAI seeks to accelerate fundraising before Anthropic IPO

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OpenAI accelerates fundraising

Highlights

OpenAI is expediting its fundraising round before Anthropic's expected IPO, meeting with SoftBank Group, MGX, and sovereign funds to secure capital quickly.
OpenAI reported $50 billion in annualized revenue, targeting $70 billion by year-end, and attributed growth acceleration to its GPT-6 Astra model launch.
Fundraising aims to strengthen OpenAI's balance sheet ahead of a possible 2027 IPO amid higher rates, AI sector volatility, and increased scrutiny of financial disclosures versus Anthropic.

Fundraising timeline and investor outreach

As reported by Reuters, OpenAI is moving on an unusually fast timetable as it seeks to close the financing before Anthropic's expected public listing gives investors fuller financial disclosures and a clearer basis for comparison between the two companies.

People familiar with the matter say SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and other existing backers are in talks to join the round. OpenAI held meetings with long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds last week while Anthropic was hosting its own investor day, highlighting how closely the two groups are now competing for the same pools of capital.

OpenAI is also pitching investors on growth that it says accelerated after the launch of its GPT-6 Astra model. According to one person familiar with the matter, the company says it has reached $50 billion in annualized revenue and expects that figure to rise to $70 billion by year-end.

Valuation pressure and market implications

Investors familiar with the company say OpenAI needs additional capital to support large infrastructure commitments and strengthen its balance sheet in case weaker IPO markets further delay its planned 2027 listing. The financing push also comes as both OpenAI and Anthropic pursue trillion-dollar valuations in a market facing higher interest rates, volatility in technology stocks and closer scrutiny of AI pricing.

Some investors view the effort as a move to lock in capital that might otherwise be allocated to Anthropic's IPO within days or weeks. That overlap is making portfolio decisions harder for funds that must assess two complex offerings at nearly the same time.

OpenAI has also told investors that price cuts on its cheaper models have increased usage and that it can lower model prices further. One person familiar with the discussions says the company wants to complete the round before Anthropic's disclosures prompt deeper questions for Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar about OpenAI's revenue growth and outlook, particularly because OpenAI records revenue on a net basis after subtracting partner shares upfront while it has criticized Anthropic for using the gross value of contracts sold through third-party cloud providers. Anthropic previously told Reuters that it follows established accounting practices.

Our earlier article on U.S. AI data center expansion highlighted how the infrastructure boom is running into expensive funding, construction delays, and growing power constraints. We noted that only a limited share of announced projects looks truly credible, and that cost overruns and weaker investor sentiment are raising questions about whether developers can deliver capacity on time without eroding returns.

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