OpenAI Reportedly Closes $110B Round
OpenAI has reportedly closed a massive $110 billion funding round, which would be four times larger than any prior IPO. Following rival Anthropic's withdrawal, CEO Sam Altman is also said to be aggressively pursuing defense contracts, highlighting a strategic split on government partnerships in the AI space.
This latest funding round boosts OpenAI's pre-money valuation to a staggering $730 billion. The massive influx of capital comes from industry giants, with Amazon committing $50 billion, while Nvidia and SoftBank are each contributing $30 billion. The majority of these funds are earmarked for significant infrastructure investments, including data centers and hardware, as well as covering cloud service costs. This move is part of a circular flow of capital, as OpenAI has committed to spending tens of billions with both Amazon and Nvidia over the next few years. The company's compute spending is projected to be $600 billion over the next four years to build out extensive AI capacity. OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon came just hours after the White House and Pentagon ordered federal agencies to cease using technology from rival Anthropic. Anthropic was designated a "supply-chain risk" to national security after refusing to permit its AI to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin are now removing Anthropic's technology from their supply chains. In announcing the partnership with the U.S. Department of War, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that the department agrees with their safety principles, which prohibit domestic mass surveillance and require human responsibility in the use of force. However, the deal faced a public backlash, prompting Altman to admit it looked "opportunistic and sloppy" and to amend the agreement to explicitly bar the technology's use for mass surveillance or by intelligence agencies like the NSA. Despite the controversy, Altman has indicated that OpenAI is pursuing further defense-related work and is reportedly exploring a contract to deploy its technology on all of NATO's classified networks. This aggressive pursuit of government contracts signals a clear strategic divergence from competitors like Anthropic on the ethical boundaries of AI application in the defense sector. This funding and strategic direction come as OpenAI reports substantial user growth, with over 900 million weekly active users for ChatGPT and more than nine million paying business users. The company's revenue reached an estimated $13 billion in 2025, with a run rate of $20 billion by the year's end.
