OpenAI valuation questioned
Investors are probing whether OpenAI’s reported $852 billion private valuation can be justified by revenue and margins, raising fresh scrutiny of one of AI’s biggest private raises. The probe comes after the company’s recent funding round and reflects investor demands for clearer fundamentals behind headline valuations. (thenextweb.com)
OpenAI’s $852 billion private valuation is facing a basic investor test: whether the company’s revenue and margins can support a price tag usually reserved for the biggest public companies. (thenextweb.com) OpenAI said on March 31 that it closed a $122 billion funding round at an $852 billion post-money valuation. Bloomberg reported Amazon committed up to $50 billion, while Nvidia and SoftBank each committed $30 billion. (openai.com) (bloomberg.com) The company told investors it was generating $2 billion in monthly revenue, after reporting $13.1 billion for full-year 2025. Reuters also reported in March, citing The Information, that OpenAI had topped $25 billion in annualized revenue by the end of February, up from $21.4 billion at the end of 2025. (thenextweb.com) (reuters.com) That gap is what investors are now dissecting. An $852 billion valuation against roughly $25 billion in annualized revenue implies a multiple above 30 times sales, while OpenAI is still described by multiple reports as unprofitable and cash-intensive. (thenextweb.com 1) (thenextweb.com 2) The pressure is sharper because OpenAI is raising money at a scale closer to sovereign projects than software start-ups. Bloomberg reported the company has said it is committed to spending more than $1.4 trillion on physical infrastructure in the coming years, largely for chips, data centers, and talent. (bloomberg.com) Investors are also comparing OpenAI with Anthropic, whose revenue has been rising quickly in enterprise artificial intelligence tools. The Information, as cited by Reuters, said Anthropic reached $19 billion in annualized revenue by early 2026, narrowing the gap with OpenAI. (thenextweb.com) (reuters.com) OpenAI’s backers are betting that today’s losses buy control of a platform that businesses and consumers use every day. In its funding announcement, OpenAI said the new capital would support “the next phase of AI” as it expands infrastructure and products. (openai.com) Skeptics are asking a narrower question: not whether OpenAI is important, but whether its economics can catch up to its valuation before public markets demand harder proof. After the March 31 round, that question is no longer limited to venture capital. (thenextweb.com 1) (thenextweb.com 2)
