OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $100 billion in a new funding round that could value the company at as much as $830 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing sources familiar with the discussions. According to the report, OpenAI aims to close the funding round by the end of the first quarter of 2026 and is considering bringing in sovereign wealth funds and other large institutional investors. Earlier reporting from The Information suggested the deal could value OpenAI at around $750 billion, but sources cited by the Journal said the valuation under discussion could climb significantly higher. If completed, the round would further cement OpenAI’s position as the most valuable private company in the world. Funding talks reflect rising AI infrastructure costs The potential funding would support OpenAI’s aggressive expansion of its computing capabilities. The company has been investing heavily in infrastructure as demand for advanced AI models continues to grow. Media reports indicate OpenAI is increasingly paying for inference and model training through direct cash expenditures rather than relying on cloud credits. That shift points to sharply rising computing costs as models scale in size and complexity. Competition and investor caution shape the backdrop The funding discussions are unfolding as competition intensifies across the AI sector, with major players such as Google and Anthropic accelerating their own model releases and enterprise offerings. The competitive pressure has pushed OpenAI to move faster on both product development and ecosystem expansion. At the same time, investor sentiment toward AI has grown more cautious. Analysts have questioned whether the current pace of capital investment—often financed in part through debt by large technology companies like Amazon and Microsoft—is sustainable over the long term. Another ongoing risk is the global shortage of advanced memory chips, which continues to constrain supply across the technology industry. Against this backdrop, media reports have also fueled speculation that OpenAI may eventually pursue an initial public offering that could target a valuation approaching $1 trillion. The company’s most recent funding round valued it at roughly $500 billion, with total capital raised now exceeding $64 billion. OpenAI has not commented publicly on the latest funding discussions. Separately, HSBC analysts have estimated that OpenAI would need at least $207 billion in funding to maintain operations through 2030, underscoring the immense financial demands of leading-edge AI development.
