OpenAI seeks $1.5 trillion valuation even as investors offer $1.2 trillion

OpenAI seeks a valuation of $1.5 trillion in its funding round, despite offers around $1.2 trillion. The company cites increased traction with Codex and new A.I. models as justification.

OpenAI is looking for a valuation of at least $1.5 trillion in a fresh funding round, even as investors have offered to invest at a valuation of about $1.2 trillion.

OpenAI believes it should be offered a higher price based on increased customer traction with its coding tool, Codex, and its latest A.I. models, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The New York Times.

While ChatGPT established OpenAI as a consumer AI platform, coding is emerging as a potentially important enterprise use case. Tools such as Codex can become embedded in software-development workflows, potentially encouraging companies to spend more on AI services.

OpenAI generated more than $40 billion in annualised revenue last month, roughly double its sales figure at the end of last year.

Any decision to move forward with the fundraising effort will hinge on exactly when OpenAI decides to go public, a person familiar with the talks said, asking not to be identified. The talks were initiated by investors, according to a Bloomberg report.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman told Fortune earlier that the company’s long-anticipated IPO is still in the works, but would not happen this year. The additional funding, if the AI giant takes it, would provide flexibility to potentially push back its IPO further, by one or two quarters, another person familiar said.

Another reason OpenAI could consider additional fundraising would be to support more mergers and acquisitions, the person said.

The company has spent billions acquiring startups, including Apple Inc. veteran Jony Ive’s AI device startup io and Astral, a startup that makes Python tools for developers.

The Financial Times reported on the talks earlier on Tuesday, noting that the round would allow longtime backers to increase their exposure ahead of the company’s IPO.

A funding round of this size could put OpenAI ahead of its main rival, Anthropic, which raised funds in May at a $965 billion valuation, including the new investment.

Anthropic is currently preparing to go public this fall in what could be the world’s largest public offering. The Claude chatbot maker is seeking to raise as much as or more than SpaceX in an IPO that could take place as soon as October, Bloomberg has reported. SpaceX raised a record $86.3 billion in its offering in June.

Sanchari Ghosh is an Assistant Editor at Mint with over 12 years of experience in journalism, specialising in personal finance, DLT & DeFi, geopolitics and foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on how these areas intersect. She writes extensively about how money works in everyday life—helping readers navigate personal finance decisions. As AI reshapes investing behaviour, capital is increasingly flowing into decentralized ecosystems, redefining how assets are managed, traded, and valued. She focuses on explaining how money flows within frameworks like Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), DeFi protocols, and crypto markets—while also exploring what the future of money could look like in a trustless, programmable financial world. She also focuses on immigration-related issues, simplifying complex topics around visas, passports, overseas financial planning, and the many practical challenges Indians face while moving or living abroad. Alongside personal finance, Sanchari has a strong understanding of international politics, contemporary and historical conflicts, and global state decisions. She closely tracks how geopolitical developments influence economies, markets, and individual financial choices, bringing together finance and global affairs in her reporting. She began her career as a desk editor, which gave her a strong foundation in news writing. Over time, her interest naturally shifted toward personal finance. Before joining Mint in 2020, she worked DNA, The Times of India, Outlook Money, BloombergQuint, and ETMoney. At Mint, she got an opportunity to expand her coverage to include immigration and geopolitical developments while continuing to closely follow personal finance trends and market movements.As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour, and fairness. She is an English Major and her work took her across cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. Living independently from an early age gave her firsthand experience in managing life and money on her own. This practical exposure sparked her strong interest in personal finance. Outside the newsroom, Sanchari is a sports enthusiast who regularly plays lawn tennis and squash. In her younger years, she was also a national-level badminton player.