OpenAI Closes $11B of New Funding Round at $1.25T Valuation, Keeps Data Center Spending on Track

OpenAI has closed $11 billion of its new funding round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, Bloomberg reported on November 6, citing people familiar with the matter. The money is the first portion of the round, and TechCrunch and Investing.com carried the same figures. The remaining $9 billion of a $20 billion target is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The raise is a smaller version of what OpenAI first sought: the company started out looking for more than $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation before scaling the round back to $20 billion at $1.25 trillion.

Even after the cut, the price is a large step up. In a CNBC interview, OpenAI's chief financial officer confirmed the talks were at almost a 50% lift in valuation from the round closed in March. That March round raised $122 billion at an $852 billion post-money valuation, so $1.25 trillion is consistent with the CFO's description. The CFO also said OpenAI will keep investing in AI data centers despite the election results, a pointed message in a week when chip and AI infrastructure stocks sold off on fears that the new Congress could slow data center construction.

For public markets, the round matters mostly through OpenAI's spending. Its compute commitments flow to cloud and chip suppliers such as MSFT, ORCL and NVDA, so a funded OpenAI keeps that demand visible. The private-market price also sets a reference point for Anthropic's upcoming IPO, where investors are already debating valuation.

What to watch: whether the last $9 billion closes on schedule and at the same price, and whether the CFO's data center commitment holds if the political backdrop for new capacity gets harder. A slip on either would be the first sign that the AI funding cycle is tightening.