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OpenAI Cuts Its Funding Target to $20 Billion

Nitish Garg · Founder & CEO, CellCog · 31 October 2026 · 4 min read · 800 words
At a glanceQuick answers
How much is OpenAI raising now?
A $20 billion target at a $1.25 trillion valuation, per the Financial Times, down from $30 billion, with the first close expected below $20 billion.
Why did the target fall?
The reports cite investor nerves about AI spending, a tech stock selloff and some investors reducing their allocations, ahead of Anthropic’s IPO.
Has OpenAI confirmed it?
No. OpenAI did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment; its last confirmed round closed in March 2026 at $852 billion post-money.
Editorial data illustration on a near-white ground: a tall teal coin stack labelled $30B target with its top part faded and dashed beside a shorter stack labelled $20B target, an amber arrow pointing down, under a large $1.25T valuation sought
Fig 0Same valuation, a third less money. Made by CellCog's image agent, running GPT Image 2.5.

OpenAI has cut the target for its new funding round from $30 billion to $20 billion and is now seeking a $1.25 trillion valuation, the Financial Times reported on October 30, 2026, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The FT story, OpenAI slashes funding target by $10bn as tech anxieties mount, is paywalled; Reuters carried the core facts the same evening.

According to those reports, OpenAI set a Friday deadline for investors to commit, and the first close is expected to raise less than $20 billion after some investors reduced their allocations. OpenAI did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Key points5 · 4 min full read
  1. A tall coin stack beside a shorter one.
    OpenAI cut its new funding round from $30 billion to $20 billion, the Financial Times reported on October 30, 2026.
  2. A price tag with a stepped line going down.
    The valuation it seeks is $1.25 trillion, down from the $1.4 trillion first reported in September.
  3. A calendar with a clock.
    OpenAI set a Friday deadline for commitments, and the first close is expected to raise less than $20 billion.
  4. A line chart falling to the right.
    The cut came as US tech stocks fell on worries about AI spending; the Nasdaq dropped 2.9 percent that day.
  5. Two runners on a track.
    Anthropic’s IPO is expected in mid-November, and the two labs court a similar pool of investors.

§ 01What changed

The round has shrunk twice in five weeks. Bloomberg first reported a $30 billion raise at a $1.4 trillion valuation in late September. On October 22, Bloomberg and CNBC reported the same $30 billion at a lower $1.25 trillion; TechCrunch’s summary put it at $1.25 trillion pre-money, in a round led by Coatue and investors in the UAE. Now the valuation holds and the amount falls by a third.

Animated diagram of three coin stacks: late September 30 billion dollars at 1.4 trillion, October 22 30 billion at 1.25 trillion, October 30 20 billion at 1.25 trillion with the missing third as a ghost, a dashed line marking first close under 20 billion, and a tag reading Anthropic IPO expected mid-November
Fig 1Same valuation, a third less money, and a first close expected below that.
Reported Raise target Valuation Source
Late September $30 billion $1.4 trillion Bloomberg
October 19 About $30 billion Over $1.4 trillion Reuters
October 22 Up to $30 billion $1.25 trillion, pre-money Bloomberg, CNBC
October 30 $20 billion $1.25 trillion Financial Times
Table 1OpenAI’s funding round as reported, September to October 2026
OpenAI's reported raise target, in billions of dollarsBar chart of OpenAI's reported raise target: 30 billion in late September, 30 billion on October 22, and 20 billion on October 30, highlightedLate September30October 2230October 3020OpenAI's reported raise target, in billions of dollarsBar chart of OpenAI's reported raise target: 30 billion in late September, 30 billion on October 22, and 20 billion on October 30, highlightedLate September30October 2230October 3020
Fig 2OpenAI's reported raise target, in billions of dollars

§ 02Why it shrank

The reports point to three pressures. Investors are nervous about how much the AI industry is spending: the cut landed on a day the Nasdaq fell 2.9 percent, leaving it 7.8 percent below its October 6 closing high, per Reuters. Some investors who were in the round cut their allocations. And Anthropic is heading for a public listing in mid-November, which Reuters says pushed OpenAI to close first because the two labs court a similar pool of investors.

The valuation is still large by any past standard. OpenAI’s last completed round, closed March 31, 2026, raised $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, anchored by Amazon, NVIDIA and SoftBank. A $1.25 trillion pre-money price is about 47 percent above that, seven months later.

OpenAI Anthropic
Last completed private round $122 billion at $852 billion post-money, March 2026 $65 billion at $965 billion, May 2026
Next step Private round: $20 billion target at $1.25 trillion IPO expected mid-November; S-1 filed October 26
Valuation talk $1.25 trillion, down from $1.4 trillion $1.5 to $2 trillion discussed, per CNBC and Reuters
Table 2OpenAI against Anthropic, the numbers on the record

§ 03What is confirmed, and what is not

  • Reported by the FT and carried by Reuters: the $20 billion target, the $1.25 trillion valuation, the Friday deadline and a first close under $20 billion.
  • Confirmed by OpenAI itself: only the March round. OpenAI has made no statement on the new one.
  • Not reported: which investors cut their allocations, or by how much.
  • Next: whether the round closes, at what size, and how Anthropic’s IPO prices in November.

§ 04Where CellCog stands

Our conflict, declared: CellCog builds AI employees and runs them on Anthropic’s Claude models, and the companies named here are in our market. This is a record of what the press reported, not investment advice.

Frequently asked5 questions

Q1What valuation is OpenAI seeking?

$1.25 trillion, per the Financial Times and earlier Bloomberg and CNBC reports, down from the $1.4 trillion first reported in September.

Q2How much did OpenAI raise in its last round?

$122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, closed March 31, 2026, per OpenAI.

Q3Who is investing in OpenAI's new round?

Coatue and UAE-based investors were reported as leads on October 22. Who committed to the reduced round has not been reported.

Q4When is Anthropic's IPO?

Reuters reported Anthropic planned to list in mid-November 2026. Anthropic filed its S-1 on October 26 without a price range.

Q5Did OpenAI comment on the cut?

No. Reuters said OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

Published 31 October 2026 All Choosing a platform →