OpenAI's Mega-Round Repriced: $30B at $1.25T Pre-Money, Coatue and UAE Leading — as Anthropic's S-1 Watch Hits "Any Day"
Update (Oct 22, 2026): the valuation came in below the ask. The standing finding tracked OpenAI accelerating a $30B fundraise at a valuation "that would top $1.4 trillion" (Reuters, Oct 20) ahead of Anthropic's expected mid-November IPO. CNBC now reports OpenAI is close to securing up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation ($1.28T post) — roughly 11% below the $1.4T Bloomberg reported a month ago — in a round led by Coatue and UAE investors, with the UAE funding possibly coupled with a deal for more compute capacity from the UAE. The Information reports the round is set to close soon; OpenAI declined comment.
TechCrunch's framing is the tell on sequencing: "OpenAI is reportedly close to securing another mega round of private funding, rather than plowing ahead with an IPO." Should the round close above $1T, "it would break records as the most valued private company ever" — OpenAI's last raise (March) valued it at $852B post-money. Meanwhile the other half of the auction is accelerating: Anthropic is seeking $1.5–2 trillion for its public debut, and its public S-1 filing is expected "any day now" (the JOBS Act 15-day flip lands ~Oct 25 if the road show starts the week of Nov 9).
Why it matters. The haircut lands three weeks after OpenAI cut its 2026 revenue projection to ~$50B from $70B signalled (OpenAI Cuts Its 2026 Revenue Projection to ~$50B — and the Repricing Goes Global: Nikkei's 3rd-Largest Point Drop on AI-Chip Concerns) — private-market repricing is real, but shallow: a $1.25T mark still doubles the March valuation in seven months. The two-company window is now asymmetric: OpenAI locks in a private number below Anthropic's public ask, which either validates Anthropic's higher target or leaves OpenAI's round as the ceiling the IPO has to beat.