OpenAI Seeks $30 Billion at Year-End in Final Funding Round Before Delayed IPO
Summary
- OpenAI is pursuing a $30 billion fundraising round by year-end, targeting a $1.4 trillion valuation, in what would be its final investment round before next year's IPO.
- The round amounts to a bridge round to fill the funding gap caused by the delayed IPO, and if successful would once again put OpenAI's valuation above that of Anthropic.
- As OpenAI's annual recurring revenue (ARR) surged to about $70 billion, the company also unveiled the AI agent 'Dots' and 'ChatGPT Space' aimed at corporate customers.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Target valuation of $1.4 trillion
Final fundraising before next year's IPO
New AI agent 'Dots' unveiled
OpenAI is preparing what is expected to be its last fundraising round before an initial public offering that has been pushed back to next year.
Bloomberg reported on September 29 that OpenAI plans to raise $30 billion by year-end. The funding would value the company at $1.4 trillion, about 64% above the $852 billion valuation it received in its March fundraising round.
The round amounts to bridge financing to fill the funding gap created by the delayed IPO. In an interview with Bloomberg TV on September 29, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said he wants to make immediate decisions without the pressure of being a newly public company, indicating OpenAI will hold off on a listing this year. The company appears to have concluded that operating as a public company, with greater disclosure requirements, would make it harder to navigate the recent controversy over AI safety.
If the fundraising succeeds, OpenAI would once again surpass rival Anthropic in valuation. Anthropic was valued at $965 billion after its May investment round.
Revenue is also climbing sharply. Axios reported that OpenAI's annual recurring revenue stood at about $70 billion as of September, up more than 70% from July.
OpenAI also unveiled Dots, a 24-hour AI agent aimed at expanding its corporate customer base. Dots learns a user's work style and preferences and can continue working while the user is away by using a separate cloud computer. It will compete with Meta's AI assistant Muse.
Dots is more focused on enterprise work than Muse. At the company's annual developer event, DevDay, on September 29, Altman said Dots can handle everything from routine tasks such as booking flights and making dinner reservations to monitoring bug reports and identifying the cause of application slowdowns.
OpenAI also introduced ChatGPT Space, a workspace where AI agents and humans can work together. Users can store documents and files there and assign tasks to AI agents much as they would instruct a person.
Kim In-yeop, Silicon Valley correspondent, Hankyung.com, inside@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
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