OpenAI in early talks on funding round above $1.2 trillion valuation

Summary

• Investors approached OpenAI about a round valuing it above $1.2 trillion, Bloomberg reported.
• Anthropic raised in May at $965 billion and is preparing a Nasdaq listing.
• A record valuation would set the benchmark for the largest AI listing yet.

The latest

OpenAI is in early discussions with investors over a funding round that would value the ChatGPT developer at more than $1.2 trillion ahead of its initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Investors initiated the talks, and any decision depends on the timing of the listing. Chief Executive Sam Altman told Fortune the IPO will not take place this year.

Details

• The valuation: The figure under discussion exceeds $1.2 trillion, according to Bloomberg's source. No structure, target size or lead investor for the round was disclosed, and the talks remain at an early stage tied to the pace of IPO preparations.
• The rival benchmark: The valuation would place OpenAI well above Anthropic, which raised financing in May at $965 billion. Anthropic is preparing a Nasdaq listing that could come as early as October, giving the two AI developers competing timelines for public markets.
• The comparison point: SpaceX set the current record for a US listing with $86.3 billion raised in its June IPO. That figure is the reference scale any OpenAI offering would be measured against if the company proceeds.
• Intel's move: Intel shares rose more than 4% on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, after Reuters reported talks with South Korea's SK Hynix on a deal that could involve leasing part of Intel's Ohio plant to produce high-bandwidth memory chips on US soil for the first time.
• The chip stakes: Such an arrangement would put SK Hynix in direct competition with Samsung and Micron inside the United States. Reuters reported the deal could draw objections from Seoul, which treats high-bandwidth memory technology as strategically sensitive.
• SK Hynix response: The South Korean chipmaker said it is reviewing various measures, including establishing additional production bases, and that nothing has been decided. It did not confirm any specific arrangement involving Intel's Ohio facility.
• Freight warning: J.B. Hunt Transport shares plunged 12.6% after the company warned of lower earnings and rising operating costs. Old Dominion fell 4.3%, a negative read from the shipping sector ahead of FedEx results on Thursday, according to TheStreet.
• Crypto and Congress: Bitcoin slipped 1.1% to around $75,700 after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on digital asset regulation in a 49-50 vote, CBS News reported. The bill would have set a federal framework for digital assets.
• Also: Timing hinges on the IPO, which Altman said will not happen this year.

Between the lines

Two of the day's three storylines point the same direction: capital is concentrating in AI and chips while freight, a traditional read on physical demand, sends warnings. J.B. Hunt's earnings warning and Old Dominion's decline arrive as OpenAI fields unsolicited investor interest at a valuation above $1.2 trillion.

What's next

FedEx reports Thursday, a test of whether the freight warnings extend beyond trucking. Anthropic's Nasdaq listing could come in October, and any confirmation from Intel or SK Hynix would clarify the Ohio plan.

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