OpenAI is looking to raise $20bn in new funding, CNBC reports, with no valuation given for it.

The Financial Times reported in September that OpenAI was discussing a round at $1.2tn, and later that it had trimmed its target to $1.25tn after pitching a higher price.

The case for paying such a price rests on revenue, where the record is mixed. OpenAI said its annualized run rate was approaching $70bn, up from roughly $40bn disclosed in August. But the Financial Times reported on October 8 that the run rate is $20bn below the figure OpenAI had been signalling to investors and partners.

Existing backers have already committed heavily. Nvidia and SoftBank each put in $10bn on October 1, completing $30bn pledges apiece, and that $20bn combined was the final tranche. SoftBank's total OpenAI investment now stands at $64.60bn, for a stake of about 13 per cent.

The regulatory file is growing as well. California's attorney general issued a subpoena on October 1 over OpenAI's handling of cybersecurity incidents, and eight states sued on October 14 claiming ChatGPT harms children. Axios reported that the FTC has asked OpenAI and Anthropic for documents on incidents at both. None of this has yet shown up in what backers will pay, and it will matter more once OpenAI lists: chief financial officer Sarah Friar told employees in August that the company would go public in 2027 or sooner.

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