OpenAI eyes $1.2 trillion valuation as it delays IPO to 2027

OpenAI is in early talks to raise new funding at a valuation near $1.2 trillion, a 41% jump from its $852 billion mark just months ago, even as CEO Sam Altman rules out an IPO for 2026, the Financial Times reported September 15.

OpenAI has not publicly confirmed that it will complete the new financing, and the company declined to comment on the latest reports.

OpenAI delays IPO as private valuation climbs

The reported OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation discussions are also unfolding against a change in the company’s public-market timetable.

Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said on September 12 that OpenAI would not pursue an initial public offering in 2026, citing concerns surrounding frontier AI safety.

The delay means private investors could have another opportunity to establish valuations before ordinary public-market investors can gain direct exposure through an IPO.

The development is particularly relevant because the broader digital-asset industry has increasingly experimented with tokenized securities and products providing indirect exposure to private technology companies.

However, an estimated or proposed private valuation should not be confused with a liquid market price or a guaranteed future IPO valuation.

OpenAI’s previous financing also illustrates the scale of capital flowing into the AI sector. Its March round included major technology and investment companies such as Amazon, NVIDIA and SoftBank, while Microsoft remained a long-standing strategic partner.

The OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation therefore represents more than a headline number. It reflects the continuing competition among investors to secure exposure to companies developing frontier AI models and infrastructure.

AI spending puts trillion-dollar valuations to the test

The potential OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation comes as global spending on artificial intelligence continues to expand rapidly. Goldman Sachs Research has projected that worldwide AI investment could exceed $1 trillion in 2026, while Gartner expects spending on AI platforms and models to reach $64.25 billion.

That consideration could become increasingly important as AI companies seek valuations measured in hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars.

OpenAI has reported strong commercial growth. In its March funding announcement, the company said it was generating about $2 billion in monthly revenue, with enterprise customers accounting for more than 40% of revenue.

Still, revenue growth alone does not establish whether the OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation will ultimately be supported by public-market investors.

Public markets generally place greater emphasis on earnings, margins, cash generation, competitive positioning and the sustainability of future growth.

OpenAI competes with Anthropic in private markets

The OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation proposal also needs to be viewed alongside the rapid rise of rival AI company Anthropic.

Data from DeFiLlama’s pre-IPO tracker estimated Anthropic’s valuation at approximately $1.48 trillion as of September 14, compared with about $903.29 billion for OpenAI. Those figures are estimates of private-market values rather than official valuations established through completed funding rounds.

If OpenAI were eventually valued at $1.2 trillion while the Anthropic estimate remained unchanged, the difference between the two companies would narrow considerably.

The competition illustrates how quickly private AI valuations have expanded. Forge Global data cited by Cryptopolitan indicates that Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI reached valuations above $100 billion substantially faster than many companies from earlier generations of private technology businesses.

The OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation is therefore part of a broader shift in how private markets value companies developing artificial intelligence. It also raises questions about whether future IPOs will create substantial new value or primarily provide existing shareholders with a more liquid market for assets they already hold.

Forge has argued that companies reaching very large private valuations can generate significant value before entering public markets. Under that model, an IPO may function more as a liquidity event than as the starting point for a company’s biggest phase of valuation growth.

The OpenAI $1.2 trillion valuation remains a reported target rather than a completed transaction. Until a new financing is finalized or OpenAI formally announces an updated valuation, investors should treat the figure as an early-stage market indication rather than an established price.

For crypto investors and participants in technology markets, the development nevertheless provides another measure of the capital flowing into artificial intelligence and the growing overlap between private-market finance, technology valuations and emerging digital-asset investment products.