OpenAI weighs pre-IPO round at $1.2 trillion-plus valuation. The company wants at least $1.5 trillion

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and Codex, is in talks to raise funds at a valuation of over $1.2 trillion.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, investors have approached OpenAI with proposals to invest in the company at a $1.2 trillion valuation (1).
• However, OpenAI believes it should be valued at $1.5 trillion or more and cites customer traction for its newest AI models and its Codex coding tool, according to a report in the New York Times (2).
• OpenAI last raised $122 billion at a valuation of $852B back in March 2026 (3). The new funding round would imply valuation growth of 41-76% in about 6 months.
• The company was previously expected to go public in 2026, but that was recently pushed back and the IPO is now expected in 2027.
• OpenAI had $6.7 billion in revenue in Q2 2026, up from $5.7 billion in Q1. But it still has negative operating margin and is losing money (1).
• Its chief rival, Anthropic, — valued at $965B back in May — is preparing for an IPO this fall that could raise over $100 billion at a $2 trillion valuation, according to media reports. It had annualized revenue of around $65B at the end of July (2, 4).

Sources & Further Reading

1. "OpenAI Considers Pre-IPO Funding Round at More Than $1.2 Trillion Valuation". The Wall Street Journal. September 16, 2026.
2. "OpenAI Considers New Financing at a $1.5 Trillion Valuation". The New York Times. September 16, 2026.
3. "OpenAI raises $122 billion to accelerate the next phase of AI". OpenAI. March 31, 2026.
4. "Anthropic says annualized revenue climbed to $65 billion in July". CNBC. August 17, 2026.