OpenAI nears $30b funding round at $1.25t valuation

openai is closing in on a new funding round of up to $30 billion with investors from the united arab emirates and investment firm coatue. the company's pre-money valuation sits at $1.25 trillion. this funding is being positioned as a bridge ahead of a potential ipo, with cfo sarah friar telling employees in august that openai would be a publicly traded company by 2027. however, ceo sam altman said in september that the timing was unfavorable for going public. openai is also negotiating a commercial deal to secure additional compute capacity through the uae.