OpenAI Raises Record $122 Billion at $852 Billion Valuation

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is one of the world’s most valuable privately held artificial intelligence companies. An employee tender offer gives staff a way to sell part of their equity before a public listing, supporting liquidity and talent retention. OpenAI submitted a confidential S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 8, 2026, but said it had not decided when to list, leaving its IPO timetable open.

Bloomberg reported on Aug. 10 that OpenAI completed an employee share buyback worth about $7 billion at an $852 billion valuation, unchanged from the price set by its $122 billion funding round completed in March 2026. Unlike secondary transactions funded by outside investors, OpenAI used its own capital to purchase the shares, according to the report. The deal provides liquidity before any listing while suggesting the company may not need to pursue an IPO in the near term.

OpenAI is accelerating its infrastructure buildout to secure the computing capacity needed for training advanced AI models and serving a growing base of users and businesses. Data centers, specialized chips and reliable power supplies have become strategic constraints across the industry. The scale of the company’s plan through 2030 underscores how competition in generative AI increasingly depends on access to capital, energy, land and large-scale computing systems.

OpenAI has raised its projected AI infrastructure spending through 2030 to $750 billion, about 25% above its previous estimate. The initial projects include a planned $20 billion investment in Georgia for Project Camellia, a large data-center campus intended to expand the company’s computing and service capacity. The revised budget signals a sharp increase in OpenAI’s long-term capital requirements as it builds the physical infrastructure supporting its models and products.

OpenAI plans to tap the corporate networks of four private equity firms, including TPG and Advent International, to integrate its models into large customers' workflows. The initiative could shape its enterprise AI market share and revenue growth, while also affecting its race with Anthropic to go public as early as 2026.

The latest proposal calls for a standalone company valued at $10 billion pre-money, with OpenAI planning to invest $4 billion. Some reports put its initial commitment at $1.5 billion. The venture would also acquire Tomoro and deploy forward-deployed engineers (FDEs) to help customers integrate AI systems, accelerating commercialization and preparations for an IPO.

OpenAI has continued to pour vast sums into model training, computing capacity and data centers since ChatGPT sparked the generative AI boom. The reported $730 billion post-money valuation reflects investor expectations for the commercialization of AGI and could affect the company’s competitiveness in chip procurement, cloud computing capacity and preparations for a future IPO.

As of July 19, 2026, OpenAI was reportedly close to completing a roughly $10 billion funding round backed by investors including MGX, Coatue Management, Thrive Capital and Altimeter Capital. The proceeds will fund in-house AI chips, data centers and AGI research while deepening cooperation with Broadcom, TSMC and Middle Eastern investors.

Founded in 2015, OpenAI has expanded rapidly through ChatGPT and enterprise AI services. As it prepares for an initial public offering, the company has identified its reliance on Microsoft for cloud computing and commercial partnerships as a risk in its financial filings. Computing costs and partner concentration will directly affect its IPO valuation, profitability and operational resilience.

The latest filings show that OpenAI estimated its 2025 revenue at $13.1 billion, although training and deploying large AI models still require substantial capital expenditure. Its reliance on Microsoft could also become a focus of investor scrutiny. The company is expanding partnerships with Amazon and others to diversify its cloud infrastructure and commercial resources, reduce concentration risk and prepare for the IPO.

OpenAI is driving revenue growth through ChatGPT and enterprise AI services while signing major infrastructure agreements with chipmakers and cloud providers. Because generative AI training and inference rely heavily on computing power, the company’s cost and revenue forecasts through 2030 will directly affect its profit outlook, valuation and the scale of global data-center investment.

OpenAI recently told investors that annual compute spending could approach $600 billion in 2030, while total annual revenue is projected to exceed $280 billion, including a $100 billion advertising revenue target. To fund its chip and cloud-infrastructure commitments, the company is planning a new financing round of as much as $100 billion.