OpenAI Nears $100B Raise at $850B Valuation
OpenAI is reportedly on track to close a $100 billion funding round that would value the company at $850 billion, making it the most valuable private tech company in history. The mega-round is expected to reset expectations for AI infrastructure and tooling worldwide. The funding is intended to help the company scale its AI infrastructure to meet growing demand.
- This new valuation follows a period of massive growth; the company was valued at $29 billion in early 2023 before a secondary share sale valued it at $500 billion in October 2025. - The company's annualized revenue reached an estimated $20 billion in 2025, a significant increase from $3.7 billion in 2024 and just $28 million in 2022. - Key long-term investors include Microsoft, Thrive Capital, and Khosla Ventures, who have participated in multiple funding rounds. - Microsoft's strategic partnership extends beyond its reported $13 billion investment; a restructured agreement in late 2025 gave it a 27% stake and secured a commitment for OpenAI to purchase an additional $250 billion in Azure cloud services. - Prominent backer Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, recently closed a new $10 billion fund to support its strategy of making concentrated investments in high-growth companies like OpenAI. - Khosla Ventures was one of the first venture capital firms to invest, making a notable $50 million investment back in 2019. - The massive capital infusion is necessary to cover the immense and rising costs of AI infrastructure, including hardware, massive energy consumption for training models, and data processing. - To accelerate enterprise adoption, OpenAI has taken a direct stake in Thrive Holdings, a new investment platform from its backer Thrive Capital, with an initial focus on embedding AI in accounting and IT services workflows.
