OpenAI nears a $30B bridge round at a $1.25T valuation

OpenAI is close to closing a funding round of up to $30 billion at a pre-money valuation of $1.25 trillion, according to a CNBC report listed by Techmeme. CNBC’s sources say investors from the United Arab Emirates and Coatue are leading it.

The same sources describe the raise as an “opportunistic” bridge ahead of an initial public offering. OpenAI has not announced a round, and nothing in the public text shows that terms are signed.

What the report establishes so far

The public summary is short. The size is given as “up to” $30 billion, so the final amount could be lower. A pre-money valuation excludes the new cash, so the company’s value after the round would be higher than the headline figure. The leads are named only as UAE-based investors and Coatue, the investment firm. The summary does not say who else is taking part, how much each investor would put in, or whether the money arrives at once or in stages.

The word “bridge” signals that the money is meant to carry OpenAI until a listing, not to stand in for one. The summary gives no IPO date, and we found no public comment from OpenAI or the investors.

A bridge raised while rivals head to market

The round lands amid a crowded week of large AI financings. Bloomberg reported, per Techmeme, that DeepSeek raised about $15 billion, one of the largest rounds in China, with CATL and Tencent among its biggest contributors. A separate Bloomberg story, also listed by Techmeme, says the pressure to back promising AI startups is changing how venture investors work, with some willing to join the same round at rapidly rising valuations.

OpenAI’s timing also sits next to a rival’s. The Information reported, according to Techmeme, that SoftBank’s SB Energy is weighing an IPO in December or later because it is watching Anthropic’s IPO, which that report expects next month. If that holds, Anthropic would reach public markets first, and a private bridge would let OpenAI raise cash without setting its own listing date.

For the broader market, the report points to the same pattern the Bloomberg piece describes: very large private rounds, led by deep-pocketed investors, are arriving before any public listing.

What the sources do not settle

Everything above rests on anonymous sources speaking to CNBC, which we could not verify independently. The public text does not establish a closing date, the final size, the split between the two lead groups, or the rights attached to the new shares. It also does not explain why the round is described as opportunistic. Until OpenAI confirms the round, the $30 billion and $1.25 trillion figures should be read as reported estimates, not agreed terms.

We will update this article if OpenAI or the investors comment publicly.