OpenAI Discusses $750 Billion Valuation: A 5x Jump in Just 14 Months
According to The Information, OpenAI is holding preliminary funding discussions with investors at a staggering $750 billion valuation - nearly five times its October 2024 value of $157 billion.
Key Takeaways
- Reported Valuation: $750 billion (up from $157B in October 2024)
- Growth Rate: ~4.8x increase in 14 months
- Status: Preliminary discussions - terms may change
- Context: Comes amid "Code Red" competition with Google Gemini
- Parallel Talks: Amazon also discussing $10B+ investment
OpenAI's Valuation Trajectory
OpenAI's valuation growth has been nothing short of extraordinary. Here's how the company's value has evolved:
Why Is OpenAI Raising at $750B Now?
Competition Pressure
Google's Gemini 3 launch triggered "Code Red" at OpenAI. Sam Altman needs capital to maintain AI leadership as Google and Anthropic close the gap.
Infrastructure Costs
Training GPT-6 and maintaining ChatGPT's 200M+ weekly users requires massive GPU clusters. Compute costs are estimated at $5B+ annually.
Talent Acquisition
With former CTO Mira Murati starting a $2B competitor and Tencent poaching researchers, OpenAI needs funding to retain top AI talent.
For-Profit Transition
OpenAI is restructuring to a for-profit benefit corporation. Fresh capital at a high valuation sets the stage for a potential IPO.
How Does $750B Compare?
At $750 billion, OpenAI would rank among the world's most valuable companies:
*Preliminary discussions - not yet finalized
What This Means for Investors
Important Caveats
- These are preliminary discussions - terms could change significantly
- OpenAI's revenue (~$4B ARR) doesn't justify traditional valuation metrics
- The AI market remains highly competitive with Google and Anthropic
- Regulatory scrutiny on AI companies is increasing globally
For existing investors like Microsoft (which owns 49% of OpenAI's for-profit arm), a $750B valuation would represent extraordinary paper gains. Microsoft's initial $1B investment in 2019 could be worth over $100B.
For new investors, the high valuation raises questions about realistic returns. At 187x revenue, OpenAI would need to grow revenue to $50B+ to justify the valuation by traditional software metrics.
For the broader AI ecosystem, this signals continued investor appetite for frontier AI despite concerns about profitability. It also pressures competitors like Anthropic, Mistral, and xAI to raise at similarly aggressive valuations.
What's Next for OpenAI?
GPT-6 Development
Expected to launch in late 2026 with AGI-level capabilities
IPO Preparation
Restructuring to for-profit benefit corporation sets the stage
Amazon Partnership
$10B+ investment talks ongoing for AWS integration
