OpenAI weighs funding round at $1.2 trillion valuation ahead of IPO

OpenAI is exploring a new funding round that could value the artificial intelligence developer at $1.2 trillion, according to a Financial Times report, in a move that would precede a possible initial public offering.

The reported figure would place the ChatGPT maker among the most valuable companies in the world, underscoring how aggressively investors have bid up businesses tied to artificial intelligence. Building and running advanced models demands enormous amounts of computing power, and OpenAI has consistently sought outside capital to fund that expansion.

Talk of a listing has circulated around the company for some time, and a round at this scale would be seen as a step toward public markets. Still, the report describes deliberations rather than a completed deal, and the terms could shift as talks proceed.

Details on participants, timing and structure were not disclosed in the report. Any offering would depend on market conditions and investor appetite, both of which have swung sharply in recent years. For now, the reported valuation stands as a signal of confidence rather than a confirmed transaction, and whether it materialises will hinge on how those talks develop.