OpenAI discusses a $30 billion round at a $1.25 trillion valuation

The gap between the reports

The reported valuation has moved down by $150 billion in a month, but the round is not final. That makes the headline number less a settled price than a snapshot of negotiations.

OpenAI’s March valuation of $852 billion gives the new figure some context: $1.25 trillion would be a substantial step up, even against a company already valued in the hundreds of billions. The confidential IPO filing in June also suggests the financing talks are unfolding alongside preparations to go public.

Anthropic’s benchmark

OpenAI’s valuation could shape expectations for Anthropic, whose IPO many expect to come first. Its public S-1 filing could appear at any time, according to rumors.

CNBC’s latest report puts Anthropic’s target IPO valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion. In May, the company raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation. Many then thought it would be Anthropic’s last major funding round before an IPO; it also filed confidentially in June.

I think the more consequential signal is the contrast: Anthropic’s reported IPO target is higher than the valuation now being discussed for OpenAI, even though OpenAI’s March post-money figure was already $852 billion. But the terms of OpenAI’s round are still under negotiation, and reported targets are not market prices.

What I’d want to know is whether either company’s IPO valuation will be anchored by these private-round figures, or whether public investors will set a very different benchmark. For now, both companies have filed confidentially, while the numbers around their eventual listings remain expectations rather than confirmed terms.