A new funding round for OpenAI, led by Coatue and investors from the United Arab Emirates, could raise as much as $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, according to people familiar with the deal. The company told investors on Thursday that it wants signatures by the end of next week, putting the round on a tight timeline.

The $1.25 trillion figure excludes the new money. If the full $30 billion is added, OpenAI's post-money value would reach approximately $1.28 trillion — a record for any private company.

The final amount OpenAI will raise has not been decided, and terms could still shift before any signatures are in place. The financing is described as an “opportunistic” bridge ahead of a potential initial public offering — interim capital raised while a company prepares for a larger event such as a listing. Talks began in September, when investors approached OpenAI with proposals.

OpenAI declined to comment.

UAE capital comes with a compute deal

Alongside the investment, OpenAI is in talks to secure a commercial deal for additional computing capacity from the UAE, one person said. The company told investors in February that it hopes to reach roughly $600 billion in total compute spending by 2030 — an outlay many multiples of the round itself, at up to $30 billion.

SoftBank Group and Abu Dhabi's MGX are among existing backers who have also held talks about joining the round, Cryptopolitan reported on October 20. That report pegged the target at more than $1.4 trillion for a round of around $30 billion.

OpenAI would deploy the new funding to cover its infrastructure commitments and strengthen its balance sheet. The company has already held discussions with long-only investors and sovereign wealth funds, institutions that often participate in late-stage private financings ahead of listings.

According to Cryptopolitan's coverage, earlier estimates in September pointed to a valuation of about $1.2 trillion. OpenAI's March round valued the company at $852 billion post-money, meaning the new pre-money mark is roughly $400 billion higher seven months later. That March round, which landed $122 billion in committed capital, was backed by Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank.

Bridge money lands ahead of a 2027 listing

OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with the SEC in June. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told employees in August that OpenAI “will be a public company in 2027.” A month later, CEO Sam Altman said it would be unwise to go public at that time.

Anthropic, one of OpenAI's top rivals, also filed confidentially in June. It is reportedly seeking a valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in its listing, following a May round that raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation. Anthropic is already talking to potential investors.

OpenAI is aiming to lock down its funding before Anthropic's expected mid-November listing, when disclosures will give investors their first detailed look at the Anthropic books. Some investors viewed the early close as a way to raise money that could have been used in an IPO for Anthropic. The sequencing leaves two near-term markers to watch: whether OpenAI collects the signatures it requested by the end of next week, and what Anthropic's mid-November disclosures reveal about its books.

OpenAI told investors that the release of GPT-6 Astra pushed annualized revenue to $50 billion, with a $70 billion figure possible by the end of the year. Annualized revenue reflects the current run rate annualized over 12 months and excludes income already booked.