By Thorsten Meyer | November 11, 2026 | ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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In late September, OpenAI was reportedly asking investors for $30 billion or more. On Friday, November 6, about $11 billion actually arrived. According to Bloomberg, the money was wired that day as the first close of a round that values the ChatGPT maker at $1.25 trillion. CNBC confirmed the close with its own sources, and OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, put the $1.25 trillion figure on record in a CNBC interview the same day.
That is still an enormous number. It is also less than first reported, in money and in price. When we looked at the reported target cut on October 31, the $11 billion had been reported by the Wall Street Journal, and the round was still open. Since then, the first part has closed, the CFO has spoken, and new investor names have appeared. This piece covers what changed, how the valuation has moved, why the round shrank, and what it means for the AI industry, for businesses that rely on OpenAI and for users.
In brief
- The close: OpenAI received about $11 billion on November 6, the first part of a round that values it at $1.25 trillion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. CNBC confirmed the $11 billion and reported that OpenAI could raise up to an additional $9 billion in the coming weeks, for a total of about $20 billion.
- On record: Friar told CNBC the round is ongoing and that the valuation is measured before the new money (“pre-money”). She said “a good CFO always raises money when she can.”
- The investors (reported): Coatue Management and T. Rowe Price contributed to the first close, according to Bloomberg, as reported by Verdict. SoftBank, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and a group of backers from the United Arab Emirates are also reported to be in the round. OpenAI declined to comment on the funding, according to 24/7 Wall St.
- Smaller than the first ask: OpenAI originally sought $30 billion or more at a $1.4 trillion valuation, Bloomberg reported. Reuters, citing two investors, put the first asking price at $1.5 trillion. Friar disputed the higher figure on air.
- The context: Investors have grown cautious about AI spending, and the US midterm elections on November 3 raised concerns about obstacles to new data centers, according to Bloomberg and CNBC.
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What was reported, and what is actually confirmed
Funding rounds at private companies are reported long before anyone publishes a press release. So who says what matters.
The first close (reported, then confirmed by a second outlet). Bloomberg reported on November 6 that OpenAI had closed on about $11 billion, the initial part of a round valuing the company at $1.25 trillion, and that the money had been wired as of that day. CNBC said it had confirmed the $11 billion portion and wrote that “Bloomberg was first to report” it. TechCrunch, which relied on Bloomberg, was more careful: it wrote that the larger round “hasn’t closed yet.”
The valuation (on record). In her CNBC interview at the Citi TMT Leadership Summit in Pebble Beach, California, Friar described the round as being at a pre-money valuation. CNBC’s text says “$1.25 billion pre-money”, an evident typo: CNBC’s own earlier reporting, Bloomberg, Reuters and others all give $1.25 trillion. Earlier reports did not agree on the basis. CNBC described $1.25 trillion as the value before new money on October 22, while the Financial Times called it post-money on October 31. On Friar’s account, it is pre-money.
The investors (reported only). According to Bloomberg, as reported by Verdict, Coatue Management and T. Rowe Price contributed to the first close, and other participants reportedly include SoftBank Group, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, plus a group of backers from the United Arab Emirates. Gulf News reported that SoftBank and MGX participated. OpenAI has not published a list of investors, and none of the amounts per investor are public.
What OpenAI says. OpenAI declined to comment on the funding, 24/7 Wall St. reported. Friar’s interview is the only on-record statement we found, and she did not give the size of the first close.
How the valuation got here
OpenAI itself announced three earlier rounds, each with a post-money valuation (the value including the new money):
| Round | Raised | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | $6.6B | $157B (post) |
| Mar 2025 | $40B | $300B (post) |
| Mar 2026 | $122B | $852B (post) |
| Nov 2026 | ~$11B so far | $1.25T (pre) |
Sources: OpenAI’s announcements of October 2, 2024, March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026; Bloomberg and CNBC for November 6, 2026, with the pre-money basis from Friar’s CNBC interview.
From $852 billion in March to $1.25 trillion in November is an increase of about 46.7%, in 220 days, a little over seven months. Friar called the price almost 50% above March, according to 24/7 Wall St. The comparison is not exact, because March was measured post-money and November pre-money. On a like-for-like post-money basis, adding the new money, the step-up would be about 48% with $11 billion and about 49% if the round reaches $20 billion. Over roughly 25 months, from October 2024, the valuation has grown about eightfold.
What changed this time is the direction of the numbers during the talks. In late September, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was looking to raise $30 billion, according to TechCrunch. Bloomberg now says the original goal was $30 billion or more at a $1.4 trillion valuation. According to 24/7 Wall St., Friar challenged that account on air, saying the higher figure started with a media report and never came from OpenAI. Either way, the price investors paid is $150 billion below the $1.4 trillion that was reported, and $250 billion below the $1.5 trillion that two investors described to Reuters.
Why the round came in smaller
Three reasons appear in the reporting.
AI stocks sold off. OpenAI cut its targets “amid a selloff in AI stocks on public markets,” Bloomberg reported, as relayed by Investing.com. CNBC wrote that investors “have turned skeptical on the AI trade of late due to a combination of higher borrowing costs, concerns about soaring debt and public backlash toward the industry.” On Thursday, November 5, the Nasdaq suffered its steepest drop in 19 months, CNBC noted. We covered that day here.
Some large investors held back. In late October, the Wall Street Journal reported a “tepid” response from some large investors, according to TechCrunch. The FT reported that the target had been cut by $10 billion, to about $20 billion, which CNBC confirmed on October 31.
Data centers became an election issue. According to CNBC, voters on November 3 “voiced their support for candidates who have pledged to place restrictions on data center development.” Bloomberg, as relayed by Investing.com, wrote that investors had expressed concern “about infrastructure spending levels and potential obstacles to data center construction following the US midterm elections.”
Seen in proportion, the money is not drying up. But compared with the first reports, the terms moved in the investors’ favor: less money, at a lower price than first asked. In March, the $122 billion of new money equalled 14.3% of the $852 billion post-money valuation. If this round reaches $20 billion, the new money will equal about 1.6% of the resulting valuation. That is our own arithmetic, and it shows how small this round is next to the last one. In October, CNBC reported that the financing was “being positioned as a bridge ahead of a potential IPO.”
What OpenAI’s CFO said about data centers
Friar said she does not think the election results dramatically changed anything for the company, CNBC reported. “When I think about the midterms, I need to keep thinking about how do we keep investing to meet that customer demand,” she told CNBC’s Sara Eisen. She added that this “will continue to mean that we raise capital.”
She also responded to the local opposition: “If the midterm means more focus on data centers and communities, we’re going to keep doing the work to get into those communities and to build trust with them.” According to CNBC, OpenAI published a policy blueprint and a set of commitments for its own future data centers on the day before the interview. For the debate about who pays for the power and water these sites need, see our earlier look at OpenAI’s compute campuses.
On a stock market listing, CNBC reported that OpenAI filed its prospectus confidentially with the SEC in June and that Friar said the company would continue to look into a 2027 debut. That is the extent of what was said. CNBC noted that Anthropic, the maker of Claude, which CNBC called OpenAI’s chief rival, is trying to go public first; we covered its filing and price range here.
What it means for the AI industry
- Capital is concentrating in a few familiar hands. Several names in this round also appear in OpenAI’s March announcement, which lists SoftBank, Andreessen Horowitz, MGX and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price among its backers. The March round was anchored by Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank. Amazon and Nvidia also sell cloud capacity and chips to AI companies. The more often the same investors return, the more their fortunes are tied to one company’s success.
- Investors are pushing back on price. OpenAI still raised money at a higher valuation than in March. But the size and the price came in below the first reports, and the earlier asking price is now disputed. For the rest of the AI sector, that suggests investors are negotiating harder.
- The data center backlash now shows up in funding. When reports name election results and obstacles to data center construction among the reasons a funding round shrank, the politics of power lines, water and land become part of how AI companies are valued, not just a public relations problem.
What it means for businesses that rely on OpenAI
- No short-term disruption signal. OpenAI has fresh money and says it keeps investing. Nothing in the reporting points to a change in products or pricing because of this round.
- But treat the provider like any critical supplier. Friar’s own words, “it will continue to mean that we raise capital”, describe a company that depends on new funding to keep building. Keep contracts, data exports and a second provider in your plans, as you would for any supplier you cannot easily replace.
- Watch where data centers get built. Capacity plans depend on local approvals. If restrictions spread, availability and prices in some regions may change. That is a risk to monitor, not a forecast.
- For OpenAI’s business products and revenue, see our article on ChatGPT business profiles and the reported $10 billion quarter. We do not repeat it here.
What it means for users
- Nothing changes in ChatGPT today. A funding round does not change the product you use.
- The money pays for computing power. Friar tied the fundraising to “customer demand” and infrastructure. According to CNBC, OpenAI depends on data centers to train its models and serve customers, and that build-out is also what communities are now voting on.
- If you live near a planned data center, the debate about power, water and local rules is now part of national politics. OpenAI says it wants to build trust with those communities. Local planning processes are where that gets tested.
What is not known
- The final size of the round, and whether the remaining up to $9 billion arrives “in the coming weeks.”
- The terms: how much each investor put in, what rights they got, and how the money will be used.
- Where the first asking price came from. Bloomberg reported $1.4 trillion, Reuters $1.5 trillion, and OpenAI’s CFO says the figure never came from OpenAI.
- Whether and when OpenAI will list its shares. Friar only said the company would continue to look into a 2027 debut.
- How the midterm results will translate into actual rules for data centers, state by state.
Sources
- Bloomberg: report on the $11 billion first close, November 6, 2026 (paywalled; linked by CNBC, TechCrunch and PYMNTS; content used as relayed by Investing.com via Yahoo Finance, Verdict via Yahoo Finance, and TechCrunch)
- CNBC: “OpenAI will keep investing in AI data centers despite election results, CFO tells CNBC”, November 6, 2026
- Investing.com via Yahoo Finance: “OpenAI closes $11 billion funding at $1.25 trillion valuation – report”, November 6, 2026
- TechCrunch: “OpenAI reportedly raises an additional $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation”, November 6, 2026
- Verdict via Yahoo Finance: “OpenAI secures $11bn in funding round with $1.25tn valuation”, November 9, 2026
- Reuters via PYMNTS: “OpenAI Valuation Hits $1.25 Trillion in New Funding Round”, November 8, 2026
- Gulf News: “OpenAI secures $11 billion in new funding”, November 7, 2026
- 24/7 Wall St.: “OpenAI Just Raised $11 Billion at a $1.25 Trillion Valuation, Below the $1.4 Trillion It First Sought”, November 7, 2026
- CNBC: “OpenAI nears funding round at $1.25T valuation led by UAE investors”, October 22, 2026, and “OpenAI pares fundraising goal, now seeking up to $20B in latest round”, October 31, 2026
- TechCrunch: “OpenAI reportedly lowers funding target for new round”, October 31, 2026
- OpenAI: “New funding to scale the benefits of AI”, October 2, 2024; “New funding to build towards AGI”, March 31, 2025; “OpenAI raises $122 billion to accelerate the next phase of AI”, March 31, 2026
- CNBC: “OpenAI closes funding round at an $852 billion valuation”, March 31, 2026
Researched and drafted with AI assistance, including Anthropic’s Claude. Anthropic, maker of Claude, is a competitor of OpenAI and is mentioned in this article. Neither OpenAI, Anthropic nor any investor named here reviewed or sponsored this article, and it contains no affiliate links. Funding and valuation figures are as reported by the named outlets and have not been confirmed by OpenAI unless stated; this is not investment advice. Statements as of November 11, 2026. Images: AI-generated illustration (Runware) and graphics by Thorsten Meyer AI; no real people or logos are shown.
