Home Latest Insights | News OpenAI Raises $110bn at $730bn Pre-Money Valuation, Signaling New Phase of Global AI Scale-Up

OpenAI Raises $110bn at $730bn Pre-Money Valuation, Signaling New Phase of Global AI Scale-Up

OpenAI Raises $110bn at $730bn Pre-Money Valuation, Signaling New Phase of Global AI Scale-Up

OpenAI has secured $110 billion in fresh capital at a pre-money valuation of $730 billion, in what ranks as one of the largest private funding rounds in technology history and a defining moment in the commercialization of artificial intelligence.

The round was led by Amazon, with participation from Nvidia and SoftBank. The deal would bring OpenAI’s post-money valuation to approximately $840 billion, positioning it as the most highly valued AI startup globally.

“We are entering a new phase where frontier AI moves from research into daily use at a global scale. This funding and these partnerships let us do both and move faster on our mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity,” OpenAI said in a blog post.

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Structure of the Deal and Implications

Amazon committed the largest portion of the round at $50 billion, including $15 billion upfront and a second $35 billion tranche tied to undisclosed conditions. Those conditions reportedly could include progress toward artificial general intelligence (AGI) or a potential initial public offering.

SoftBank and Nvidia each invested $30 billion. It remains unclear whether Nvidia’s participation is separate from, or connected to, its previously announced $100 billion commitment to the Sam Altman-led company in September.

Despite Amazon’s sizable stake, OpenAI said Microsoft will remain a longstanding strategic partner and major shareholder. Microsoft did not participate in the latest round, a notable development given its earlier multibillion-dollar backing and deep integration of OpenAI models into Azure and its enterprise software ecosystem.

The funding signals an intensifying arms race among technology giants. Amazon’s leadership in the round strengthens its position in generative AI infrastructure and cloud computing, areas where it competes directly with Microsoft and Google. Nvidia’s involvement reinforces its central role as the primary supplier of advanced AI chips that power model training and inference at scale.

OpenAI reportedly expects to spend $665 billion through 2030 on training and operating its models — more than double prior projections. The figure highlights the extraordinary capital intensity of frontier AI development, where compute infrastructure, data center expansion, and model optimization require sustained multiyear investment.

The company’s flagship product, ChatGPT, has grown rapidly. It now serves more than 900 million weekly users, including nearly 50 million paying subscribers. Over nine million enterprises are reportedly using the platform, embedding AI tools into workflows ranging from coding and research to customer service and marketing.

To support revenue expansion, OpenAI has begun introducing advertising for non-premium users, signaling a diversification of its monetization strategy beyond subscriptions and enterprise licensing.

The $840 billion post-money valuation eclipses other major AI players. Anthropic was valued at $380 billion following its Series G round led by GIC and Coatue. Meanwhile, xAI was acquired by SpaceX at a $250 billion valuation.

The scale of OpenAI’s raise underscores investor conviction that AI will underpin the next generation of digital infrastructure, enterprise productivity, and consumer applications. At the same time, it reflects the extraordinary costs required to sustain leadership in frontier model development, where training runs increasingly demand clusters of advanced GPUs and vast energy resources.

Under the new valuation, the stake held by the OpenAI Foundation — the company’s nonprofit arm — has appreciated significantly. As of October 2025, the Foundation held a 26% equity stake in the group. At current valuation levels, that position would be worth more than $180 billion, dramatically expanding its capacity to fund initiatives in global health and AI resilience.

The funding round marks a pivotal juncture. OpenAI is transitioning from a research-driven lab into a global infrastructure provider whose models are embedded across consumer and enterprise ecosystems. The size of the capital infusion suggests that backers are not merely financing incremental improvements but underwriting a multiyear buildout of AI systems at planetary scale — with commercial opportunity and execution risk rising in equal measure.

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