OpenAI CFO Confirms Talks to Raise at $1.25 Trillion Valuation, About 47% Above March

OpenAI is raising money at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said today, Nov. 6, at the Citi TMT Leadership Summit in an interview with CNBC. She called the round ongoing.

"A good CFO always raises money when she can," Friar said.

The number sits about 47% above the $852 billion post-money valuation OpenAI announced on March 31, when it said it had closed a round with $122 billion in committed capital. That percentage is our arithmetic, and it compares a pre-money figure with a post-money one.

The valuation moved, and so did the target

The $1.25 trillion mark is lower than where talks started. Bloomberg reported on Oct. 23, citing people involved in the talks who asked for anonymity, that the valuation under discussion shifted by $150 billion from $1.4 trillion. Those people said Coatue Management was in talks to co-lead, and that OpenAI had also talked with funds from the United Arab Emirates and with BlackRock. OpenAI declined to comment.

The Financial Times reported that OpenAI cut its target by $10 billion, to as much as $20 billion from $30 billion, as some investors trimmed their proposed commitments. The paper also reported an Oct. 30 deadline for commitments, with the initial closing expected to bring in less than the revised target. The FT described the $1.25 trillion figure as post-money, while Friar's account to CNBC is pre-money. The gap between the two is small next to the size of the raise, but it is not nothing.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that OpenAI had secured only about $11 billion in commitments, less than half the original $30 billion goal. According to the Journal, several large institutions showed limited interest. It reported that OpenAI told shareholders it would keep fundraising for several weeks and approach family funds and high-net-worth individuals.

The company has not published a commitment total of its own.

What else Friar said

CNBC reported that OpenAI confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with the SEC in June. Friar said the company would continue to look at a 2027 debut.

On AI demand, she was blunt. "The demand for AI is real, and I don't think anyone's arguing with that, or if they are, I think it's a losing argument," she said.

Asked about margins, she said OpenAI has not talked publicly about them. She said she had looked at Anthropic's S-1. On new products, she said consumer hardware is something OpenAI can think about next year. On the midterms, she said she did not think anything changed dramatically for the company.

The skeptics have numbers too

Friar's "losing argument" line is aimed at a debate that is very much live. Bloomberg reported that tech stocks fell in late October after mixed earnings from Meta and Tesla stoked investor worry that AI spending has gone too far.

Amazon's third-quarter release showed expected 2026 cash capital spending of about $220 billion and negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion over the 12 months ended in September, against positive $14.8 billion a year earlier. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9% in one session in late October and stood roughly 7.8% below its Oct. 6 record close.

There is a counterpoint in the same data. Microsoft reported revenue up 19% to $92.3 billion for its fiscal first quarter, with Azure up 48%. Motley Fool analyst Jeremy Bowman wrote that the lower valuation could signal fatigue in the sector, but that it is still far above $852 billion and "shouldn't be a cause for alarm."

The Anthropic comparison

OpenAI's chief rival is about to test public markets first. Bloomberg reported that Anthropic's IPO is expected in November. The Journal reported, citing people familiar, that Anthropic posted a small operating profit in the second quarter while OpenAI's operating losses widened over the same period. Bowman wrote that Anthropic is targeting a $2 trillion valuation.

Bowman also reported that CEO Sam Altman told employees now is not the right time to go public. Bloomberg reported OpenAI pushed its IPO plans into next year, citing its focus on AI safety.

The backdrop is a venture market that is getting top-heavy. Crunchbase data cited by the Journal show nearly $680 billion invested globally in the first three quarters of 2026. About one-third of third-quarter funding went to 27 companies that each raised more than $1 billion. Growth came mainly from giant raises by OpenAI and Anthropic, not a broad recovery.

What comes next

Friar's confirmation settles the headline valuation for now. It does not settle how much money actually closes.

The next numbers to watch are the final commitment total against the $20 billion revised target, and how Anthropic's shares are received this month. That reception will set the tone for the 2027 OpenAI listing Friar says the company is still weighing.