OpenAI raises $11 billion at a lower valuation than planned, Bloomberg reports

As of November 6, $11 billion had reached OpenAI's accounts, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the deal. It is the first part of a funding round that values the maker of ChatGPT at $1.25 trillion. The rest could bring the total up to $20 billion and should be wrapped up in the coming weeks. OpenAI declined to comment.

The figure is impressive, but it marks a step back. Also according to Bloomberg, OpenAI initially sought at least $30 billion, based on a valuation of $1.4 trillion. The $11 billion raised is a little over a third of that initial target.

Why investors pushed back

The round was scaled back amid a sell-off in AI stocks. Bloomberg points to concerns about spending on AI's physical infrastructure and about possible new obstacles to building data centers after the U.S. midterm elections. On November 5, the Nasdaq index fell 5.5%, its sharpest drop since the crash caused by U.S. tariffs in 2025, before regaining 1.5% the next day, according to a Reuters analysis picked up by The Globe and Mail. Talks had lasted more than a month, after OpenAI postponed its plans for an initial public offering.

Chief financial officer Sarah Friar defends the price. According to the financial site 24/7 Wall St., she confirmed the $1.25 trillion valuation on television, calculated before the new funds come in. She stressed that it is nearly 50% higher than in March, when OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation. She also disputed the claim, reported by two investors, that the company had first aimed for $1.5 trillion.

Also according to 24/7 Wall St., Sarah Friar claims 70% quarter-over-quarter growth in the business and a doubling of its enterprise activity, without giving a figure. “Demand for AI is real,” she said. SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's MGX fund are taking part in the round, according to the same site. The terms of the deal and the use of the funds have not been made public.

What it means for business customers

For a European IT manager, these amounts are not just financial news. The major AI labs have made very heavy computing commitments. NVIDIA puts OpenAI's existing and planned commitments on its chips at about 12 gigawatts. In a blog post published in August, NVIDIA even says that many of these labs are “growing faster than their balance sheets and long-term credit profile can support.”

If the money arrives more slowly or costs more, prices, quotas and suppliers' priorities could shift. The whole sector is looking for funds: Meta, for example, raised $37.5 billion on the market to fund its data centers. For companies building their services on these models, keeping the ability to switch providers without rewriting everything remains the best insurance.

Two things to watch

The first: OpenAI's ability to reach the $20 billion mentioned within the coming weeks. The second: NVIDIA's quarterly results, expected on November 17, which will show whether demand for AI chips lives up to its customers' promises.