According to a CNBC report, OpenAI is in discussions with prospective backers from the United Arab Emirates, who would lead the round, and U.S. firm Coatue is expected to take part. The round is described as an opportunistic bridge that would fund ongoing investment while OpenAI finalizes its IPO plans. The final size has not been set, according to the report.
OpenAI raised $122 billion in March at a post-money valuation of $852 billion, from investors including Amazon, SoftBank and Nvidia. It filed a confidential IPO prospectus with the SEC in June. Its timing has shifted: its CFO said in August the company would be public in 2027, and CEO Sam Altman later called a listing this year ill-advised.
Anthropic is also preparing an IPO and is reportedly seeking a valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2.5 trillion. Separately, OpenAI is reportedly discussing a commercial deal with the UAE investors for more compute capacity in the Middle East.
Why it matters if you build agents
For developers, the main signal is that OpenAI's model API provider is set to raise a large amount of capital, with no change to its services reported in this story. Compute access in the Middle East could affect capacity planning if that deal goes through. Treat the figures as reported talks, not a closed round, until OpenAI or the investors confirm them.
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