OpenAI in early talks on funding round valuing it above $1.2 trillion

Summary

• Investors approached OpenAI about a round valuing the ChatGPT maker above $1.2 trillion, Bloomberg reported
• Altman told Fortune the initial public offering will not happen this year, leaving timing unsettled
• The valuation would put OpenAI well above Anthropic, which raised in May at $965 billion

The latest

A new funding round under discussion would value OpenAI at more than $1.2 trillion ahead of its planned market debut, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The talks are early, and investors initiated them. Whether the round proceeds depends on the timing of the listing, which chief executive Sam Altman has said will not come this year.

Details

• The talks: Bloomberg reported the discussions remain at an early stage, with investors making the first approach rather than the company. The person familiar with the matter said a decision hinges on when OpenAI moves ahead with its initial public offering, and no terms have been settled.
• Altman's position: The chief executive told Fortune the listing will not take place this year. That statement sets the outer boundary on the timing question the funding talks depend on, without naming a target date or a venue for the eventual offering.
• The rival benchmark: The figure under discussion would place OpenAI above Anthropic, which raised money in May at a $965 billion valuation. Anthropic is preparing a Nasdaq listing that could come in October, making it the nearer test of investor appetite for large artificial intelligence flotations.
• The recent record: SpaceX raised a record $86.3 billion in its June offering, the largest comparison point available for how much capital a private technology giant can pull from public markets in a single debut.
• Intel rises: Intel shares gained more than 4% on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, after Reuters reported the company is in talks with South Korea's SK Hynix on a deal that could include leasing part of Intel's Ohio plant for high-bandwidth memory production.
• Why it matters: Reuters said the arrangement would mark the first time such memory chips are produced on American soil, putting SK Hynix in direct competition with Samsung and Micron. Seoul could object, because the technologies involved are treated as sensitive.
• The company's reply: SK Hynix said it is weighing various measures, including establishing additional production bases, and that nothing has been decided.
• Freight warning: J.B. Hunt Transport fell 12.6% after warning of lower profit and rising operating costs, and Old Dominion dropped 4.3%, according to TheStreet — a negative signal from the shipping sector ahead of FedEx results on Thursday.
• Crypto and Congress: Bitcoin slipped 1.1% to about $75,700 after the Senate failed to pass the Clarity Act on digital asset regulation in a 49-50 vote, CBS News reported.

Between the lines

Three of the day's moves point the same way: investor appetite is concentrating in artificial intelligence and chips while it drains from older cyclical sectors. Freight stocks fell on earnings warnings and bitcoin fell on a failed vote, while Intel rose on a manufacturing report and OpenAI drew unsolicited approaches at a valuation no private company has carried into a listing.

What's next

FedEx reports Thursday, a test of whether the freight warnings signal broader weakness. Anthropic's Nasdaq listing could come in October, and any confirmation of OpenAI's timing would clarify whether the round proceeds.

Source: Bloomberg, Reuters, TheStreet, Fortune, CBS News