OpenAI Nears $100B Funding Round, Valuation Could Surpass $850B Amid AI Gold Rush

OpenAI is on the verge of completing the first phase of what could become the largest private funding round in history, with sources close to the deal indicating that more than $100 billion is expected to be raised, potentially valuing the company at over $850 billion. According to Bloomberg, the funding round is being led by a consortium of institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, major technology conglomerates, and elite venture capital firms, all racing to secure a stake in the AI pioneer as demand for generative models surges globally.

The deal, still subject to final legal and regulatory approvals, would dwarf previous tech funding milestones—including the $6 billion round led by Microsoft in 2023—and signal an unprecedented level of confidence in OpenAI’s long-term infrastructure, proprietary training methodologies, and commercialization roadmap. Investors are reportedly betting not just on ChatGPT or DALL·E, but on OpenAI’s emerging enterprise platform, API ecosystem, and its strategic partnerships with cloud providers, hardware manufacturers, and government agencies.

While the exact breakdown of investor participation remains confidential, Bloomberg reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), SoftBank Group, and a coalition of U.S.-based pension funds are among the leading contributors. Additionally, Microsoft, which has already invested over $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, is expected to increase its stake through a combination of equity and infrastructure commitments, including expanded access to Azure’s quantum-ready data centers.

The valuation leap—from approximately $90 billion in late 2023 to a projected $850 billion—reflects a dramatic recalibration of AI’s economic potential. Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence note that OpenAI’s revenue streams, including enterprise licensing, subscription tiers, and government contracts, have grown over 400% year-over-year, with annualized revenue now estimated at $12 billion. The company’s proprietary training data pipeline, which reportedly ingests over 100 exabytes of curated information annually, has become a key competitive moat.

However, the scale of this funding has triggered regulatory scrutiny. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission are reportedly reviewing whether such a concentrated infusion of capital into a single AI entity could undermine market competition or create systemic risks in critical infrastructure sectors. Meanwhile, global competitors such as Anthropic, Meta, and Alibaba’s Tongyi Lab are accelerating their own funding efforts, with Anthropic reportedly nearing a $5 billion round of its own.

Internally, OpenAI has begun restructuring its governance model to accommodate its new scale. Sources indicate that the nonprofit board, originally established to ensure AI safety, is being supplemented by a new advisory council composed of former heads of state, Nobel laureates in computer science, and ethicists from leading universities. This move aims to preempt criticism that the company has drifted from its founding mission amid its commercial ascent.

For the broader tech industry, this funding round may redefine the boundaries of private capital in emerging technologies. If finalized, the $100 billion injection would represent more than the combined GDP of over 100 nations, underscoring the staggering financial weight now being placed on artificial intelligence as the next industrial frontier. Investors are no longer merely backing software—they are betting on the architecture of the future.

As OpenAI prepares to announce the round’s completion in the coming weeks, all eyes will be on how it deploys this capital—whether into research, global expansion, or defensive acquisitions. One thing is certain: the AI race has entered a new, hyper-capitalized phase, and OpenAI is no longer just a company. It is a global infrastructure node.