OpenAI is in early talks for a pre-IPO round, and the reported price depends on who you read. The Financial Times put the OpenAI $1.5 trillion valuation conversation at $1.2 trillion on September 15. The New York Times put it at $1.5 trillion a day later. Against a revenue run rate above $40 billion, that is a spread between 30x and 37x — and a $300 billion disagreement.
How much is OpenAI actually asking for?
Two numbers are on the table. Investors floated $1.2 trillion, according to the Financial Times report of September 15. OpenAI is pushing for $1.5 trillion, according to the New York Times on September 16. Neither outlet has published a final round size.
The gap matters more than it looks. $300 billion is roughly the market capitalization of Procter & Gamble — the difference between two versions of the same story.
Both reports agree on the mechanics: talks are early, investors initiated them, and no decision has been made. Sources in both accounts spoke anonymously.
Where the $300 billion gap probably comes from
The likeliest explanation is pre-money versus post-money. OpenAI’s last round illustrates how wide that wedge gets at this scale.
In March 2026, the company raised $122 billion at a $730 billion pre-money valuation — $852 billion post-money, per reporting on that round. A $122 billion raise moved the headline number by $122 billion.
Apply the same logic here and a $1.2 trillion pre-money price with a very large check attached lands close to $1.5 trillion post-money. That is arithmetic, not confirmation. Neither outlet has said which basis it used, and until one does, treat the headline number as a range.
What does the OpenAI $1.5 trillion valuation imply per dollar of revenue?
It implies a multiple between 30x and 37x forward-looking annualized revenue. OpenAI’s annualized revenue passed $40 billion in August 2026, according to reporting tied to the funding talks. At $1.2 trillion that is 30x. At $1.5 trillion it is roughly 37x.
Here is how the price has moved.
| Date | Event | Valuation | Amount | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-year 2025 | Revenue / net loss | — | $13.07B revenue, $38.5B net loss | FT-linked reporting |
| March 2026 | Primary round | $730B pre / $852B post | $122B | Multiple outlets |
| June 2026 | Confidential IPO filing | — | Draft prospectus with the SEC | Reuters / NYT |
| August 2026 | Employee tender offer | $852B | ~$7B secondary | FT-linked reporting |
| Sept 15, 2026 | Investor pitch | $1.2T | Undisclosed | Financial Times |
| Sept 16, 2026 | Company target | $1.5T | Undisclosed | New York Times |
Read across that table and the step-up is steep. From $852 billion post-money in March to $1.5 trillion in September is a 76% markup in six months. To $1.2 trillion it is 41%.
The number the headlines skip
OpenAI posted $13.07 billion in revenue for 2025 against a $38.5 billion net loss, per figures circulated with the current funding reporting. The company spent roughly $34 billion in 2025, largely on training and infrastructure.
That is a loss nearly three times revenue. Reporting cited by 24/7 Wall St. holds that profitability is not expected before 2030.
Revenue has since roughly doubled off the end-2025 base. Quarterly revenue moved from $5.7 billion in Q1 2026 to $6.7 billion in Q2 2026 — 17.5% sequential growth, strong in absolute terms but a step down from the doubling pace the valuation math assumes.
Why is OpenAI raising privately instead of going public?
Because the IPO moved. OpenAI filed a confidential draft prospectus with the SEC in June 2026, then pulled back from a 2026 listing. On September 12, Sam Altman said a listing before 2027 was unlikely, citing concerns about AI risk. CFO Sarah Friar has said the company “will be a public company in 2027.”
A delayed IPO does not delay the compute bill. Private capital fills the gap.
That delay has already been priced elsewhere in the market — SoftBank fell 11% on the news and borrowed $11.9 billion against its holdings.
OpenAI has raised more than $180 billion since 2015. The March round alone drew Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank.
How does this compare with Anthropic?
Unfavorably on the multiple. Anthropic’s annualized revenue was reported near $65 billion at the end of Q2 2026, against a targeted IPO valuation of roughly $2 trillion. That is about 31x. OpenAI at $1.5 trillion on $40 billion is 37x.
- Revenue run rate: Anthropic ~$65B; OpenAI >$40B.
- Implied multiple: Anthropic ~31x; OpenAI 30x–37x depending on the report you believe.
- Profitability: Anthropic is reported profitable over its last two quarters; OpenAI is not expected to be until 2030.
- Listing path: Anthropic is preparing a fall 2026 Nasdaq listing; OpenAI has pushed to 2027.
The competitive read is uncomfortable for OpenAI. It is asking for a higher multiple on less revenue, later profitability and a later listing. We covered Nvidia weighing a $10 billion anchor order in Anthropic’s IPO at $2 trillion earlier this week.
OpenAI’s counter-argument is growth mix. The company has pointed to accelerating adoption of Codex and of its newest models — GPT-6 Astra, launched September 3, and the GPT-5.6 series from July — as justification for the step-up. Reporting attributes a roughly 20% revenue uptick to the GPT-5.6 release.
Who can write a check this size?
A short list. At a $1.2–1.5 trillion valuation, a round that moves the ownership needle meaningfully runs into the tens of billions, which rules out almost every traditional venture fund.
The March 2026 round is the template: Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank supplied $122 billion between them and their co-investors. Sovereign wealth funds and strategic corporates are the realistic pool.
Two of those three sell OpenAI something. Nvidia sells the silicon. Amazon sells the cloud. That is the part of AI financing worth watching closely — the investor and the vendor are frequently the same balance sheet.
What the secondary market already said
OpenAI ran an employee tender of roughly $7 billion in August 2026, priced at the $852 billion March mark. That transaction is six weeks old.
Anyone who sold into it took $852 billion. If the new round clears at $1.5 trillion, those sellers left about 76% on the table in under two months — a useful measure of how fast, and how unevenly, this asset is being repriced.
Why this matters
A $1.2–1.5 trillion private mark resets the ceiling for every AI valuation below it. Late-stage AI rounds are priced off the leader, and the leader is being repriced 76% higher in six months without a public market to check it.
That ripples down fast. Cognition’s $47 billion round at 52x revenue and Thinking Machines at $40 billion both look more defensible if the anchor holds and considerably worse if it does not.
There is also a structural point. Private rounds at these sizes are increasingly funded by the same strategic buyers — chipmakers, clouds, and telcos — who also sell compute to the companies they are funding. Capital and revenue start to circle.
The skeptical read: a valuation reported two different ways, $300 billion apart, in early-stage talks the investors started, is not a price. It is an opening position. This post is reporting and analysis, not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Has OpenAI confirmed the $1.5 trillion valuation?
No. Both the Financial Times and the New York Times reports rely on anonymous sources, and both note that no decisions have been made and plans may change.
How much has OpenAI raised in total?
More than $180 billion since 2015, including $122 billion in the March 2026 round backed by Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank.
When will OpenAI go public?
CFO Sarah Friar has said 2027. The company filed a confidential draft prospectus in June 2026, and Sam Altman ruled out a listing before 2027 on September 12.
Is OpenAI profitable?
No. The company reported a $38.5 billion net loss on $13.07 billion of revenue in 2025. Reporting cited by 24/7 Wall St. puts expected profitability at 2030.
Why do the FT and NYT figures differ?
Neither outlet has explained it. The most plausible causes are a pre-money versus post-money distinction, or the difference between what investors offered and what OpenAI wants.
What multiple would $1.5 trillion represent?
About 37x an annualized revenue run rate above $40 billion. At $1.2 trillion the multiple is roughly 30x.
Who is expected to lead the round?
No lead investor has been named in either report. The March 2026 round drew Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank.
The bottom line
Watch for three things. First, whether either outlet clarifies pre- versus post-money — that resolves most of the $300 billion gap on its own. Second, the round size, which has not been reported and which determines the real dilution. Third, whether Anthropic’s fall listing prices near $2 trillion, because a public comparable is the fastest way to test whether 37x survives contact with the market.
Until a term sheet exists, the OpenAI $1.5 trillion valuation is a negotiating range reported by two newspapers, not a completed round. Nothing here is investment advice.
Sources
- PYMNTS — OpenAI Eyes $1.2 Trillion Valuation in Pre-IPO Funding Round (Financial Times reporting)
- GV Wire — OpenAI Considers New Financing at a $1.5 Trillion Valuation (New York Times reporting)
- Tech Funding News — OpenAI eyes $1.2T valuation in fresh funding talks
- 24/7 Wall St. — Someone Made a Big Mistake About OpenAI’s $1.5 Trillion Value
- The Next Web — OpenAI eyes a private round at a $1.5tn valuation
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