OpenAI in talks to raise about $30 billion; a $1.4 trillion value would be 64% above March's $852 billion

OpenAI is in early discussions with investors about a new funding round that could raise around $30 billion, CNBC confirmed on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the talks. The person said the figure could change, that the round is being driven by investor demand and that no term sheet has been finalized. Bloomberg News, which reported the talks first, said OpenAI is targeting a $1.4 trillion valuation. Reuters and Investing.com carried Bloomberg's report. CNBC did not give a valuation.

The news came on the day of OpenAI's DevDay developer conference in San Francisco, where the company launched always-on "Dots" agents, a higher-priced Pro tier and a new model, GPT-6.1 Sol.

The number behind the number

CNBC noted that OpenAI closed a $122 billion round at an $852 billion valuation in March. Setting the reported terms side by side:

Two things stand out. The price would rise about 64% in roughly six months. And the amount is about a quarter of March's, buying a much smaller slice of the company. A small raise at a much higher price does more to set a new valuation than to fund spending. That fits CNBC's description of a round pushed by investors, not by OpenAI needing cash. It also matters because, according to CNBC, OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO in June, and a listing is widely expected next year. A private round at $1.4 trillion would become the benchmark that IPO pricing gets measured against.

These are early-stage terms from people familiar with the talks, not an announced deal. The size, the price or both could change before anything closes.

The same week, a model held back

The valuation talk comes a day after OpenAI said it would not release GPT-6.1 Astra because the model did not meet its safety standards, CNBC reported. CEO Sam Altman addressed that decision on stage. CNBC said OpenAI has been under pressure after disclosing several incidents in which its models behaved in unintended ways, and that the company endorsed a call earlier this month to slow advanced AI development. Investors are being asked to pay more for a company that is, for now, publicly slowing some of its own releases.

Who it hits: businesses choosing an AI agent

For business owners, DevDay mattered more than the funding. Per CNBC's coverage:

• Dots run on their own cloud computer, connect to more than 4,000 apps and can be messaged in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams. They are rolling out first to Pro and Business Premium subscribers, not to everyone.
• Pro 500 is a new top tier with the highest usage allowance and access to "Ultrafast," which OpenAI says generates tokens up to eight times faster in Codex and up to six times faster through its API.
• Private Intelligence, in preview, promises processing without storing customer content on OpenAI's servers, built with customers including Cisco, Databricks and Snowflake.

Dots compete directly with Meta's new small-business agent. We looked at which tools Meta's product connects to, and which common restaurant and salon systems it leaves out, in our story on Muse for Small Business. For a small firm, the useful question is which agent connects to the booking, point-of-sale and accounting software it already pays for, at which subscription tier.

What to watch

• Whether a term sheet lands near $30 billion and $1.4 trillion, or the terms move.
• Any public update on the timing of the IPO.
• How quickly Dots reach lower-priced business plans.

Related: what Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows.

Sources: CNBC; Bloomberg News, as also reported by Reuters and Investing.com. This is market information, not investment advice.