OpenAI Trims Funding Round Target by $10 Billion Amid Tech Stock Selloff, FT Reports

OpenAI has reduced the target for its latest funding round by $10 billion as a selloff in technology stocks tied to AI spending worries ripples through markets, the Financial Times reported, according to CNBC and Seeking Alpha, both citing the FT's sourcing from people with knowledge of the matter.

The ChatGPT maker is now seeking roughly $20 billion in the round, down from its earlier target, and its desired valuation has slipped as well. According to the FT report cited by CNBC, OpenAI's targeted valuation has dropped to $1.25 trillion, from a prior figure given in that report as $1.4 billion.

A Shrinking First Close

OpenAI had set a Friday deadline for investors to formally commit to the round. Despite that deadline, the FT report says the company's so-called "first close" is expected to raise less than the already-reduced $20 billion target, after some investors pulled back their allocations. The report, as relayed by CNBC, does not name which specific investors trimmed their commitments or by how much, so the scope of individual reductions remains unclear from the available reporting.

That detail matters because it suggests — an interpretation of the reporting rather than a stated finding — that the gap between OpenAI's fundraising ambitions and what it can actually secure in this round may widen before the round is finalized. The reporting does not indicate a timetable for any close beyond the first.

Who Is Still Expected to Participate

Even with a smaller pool of committed capital, the FT report cited by CNBC names several investors still expected to take part. A consortium of UAE investors that includes the state-backed technology fund MGX is expected to be the largest participant in the round. As part of that arrangement, OpenAI would reportedly gain the option to lease newly developed computing capacity in the region, tying the fundraising directly to future infrastructure access rather than just capital.

Venture firms including Founders Fund, Coatue, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also expected to participate, per the same report. Separately, wealthy individuals will reportedly have the option to invest in a subsequent retail offering at the $1.25 trillion valuation, according to the FT.

CNBC noted that OpenAI, MGX, Coatue, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours, and that Founders Fund could not be reached. None of the parties named have publicly confirmed the details of the round through their own statements in the available reporting.

The Backdrop: A Tech Selloff Tied to AI Spending Worries

The funding retreat comes as US tech stocks have been hit by a broader rout tied to concerns over the scale of AI infrastructure spending. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9% on Friday and is now down 7.8% from its all-time closing high reached on October 6, according to figures cited in the CNBC report. That decline underscores the market backdrop against which OpenAI's investors are reassessing their commitments, though the reporting does not draw a direct causal line from the Nasdaq's specific moves to any individual investor's decision to reduce allocation.

Why the Timing Matters

According to Reuters reporting cited by CNBC, OpenAI is pursuing a public listing in 2027 and has been keen to close this funding round partly to get ahead of a reportedly imminent listing by rival Anthropic, since the two companies are said to be tapping a similar investor base. If accurate, that dynamic would add competitive pressure on OpenAI to lock in commitments even as the fundraising environment turns more difficult, though no specific date for Anthropic's listing was disclosed in the available reporting.

Bottom Line

The available reporting, all traced back to the Financial Times' sourcing, points to a funding round that has shrunk in both target size and expected valuation, with a first close likely to fall short of even the reduced $20 billion goal after unnamed investors pulled back. The UAE-led MGX consortium and a handful of established venture firms are still expected to anchor the round, with infrastructure access in the UAE forming part of that arrangement. What remains unverified independently of the FT's sourcing is the exact scale of individual investor reductions, the timing of any subsequent closes, and how a smaller raise might affect OpenAI's broader compute commitments beyond the UAE leasing option described in the report.