OpenAI cuts its funding target to $20 billion
The ChatGPT maker is now seeking up to $20 billion in its latest funding round, down from about $30 billion, according to several reports.
OpenAI has scaled back the size of its latest fundraising, according to reports on Saturday. The company behind ChatGPT is now aiming to raise up to $20 billion in the round, down from an earlier goal of about $30 billion. The cut was first reported by the Financial Times and later confirmed by CNBC, and was also reported by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the reports, OpenAI had given investors a Friday deadline to commit money, and some chose to put in less than first planned. The FT said the round would value the company at about $1.25 trillion after the new money comes in. Investors from the United Arab Emirates and the investment firm Coatue are reported to be leading the round. The round has not closed, and a person familiar with the deal said the figures could still change. OpenAI did not immediately comment.
The pullback follows a rough week for technology stocks. Investors have become more cautious about the enormous sums big tech companies are spending on data centers and chips for artificial intelligence, and whether that spending will pay off soon. On Friday the Nasdaq composite had its worst day since June after chipmaker Intel plunged on a weak forecast.
Even at the lower target, the round would be among the largest private fundraisings ever. OpenAI has been raising huge amounts of money to pay for the computing power needed to build and run its AI models.
This summary is original reporting by tehworldnews, written after checking the facts against several major international news outlets and official statements.