By PYMNTS | October 20, 2026
OpenAI is reportedly rushing to lockdown investors before chief competitor Anthropic goes public next month.
That’s according to a report Monday (Oct. 19) by Reuters, which describes the effort as “unusually fast fundraising” that could bring OpenAI’s valuation to more than $1.4 trillion.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this timetable is a reflection of OpenAI trying to gain ground on Anthropic as both companies are increasingly courting the same investors.
The sources added that OpenAI hopes to capitalize on recent revenue growth after debuting new artificial intelligence (AI) models. Existing investors including SoftBank and the Abu Dhabi-based MGX are in discussions to join the roughly $30 billion round, one of the sources told Reuters.
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The report notes that this acceleration highlights how closely OpenAI and Anthropic are competing for funding as they target trillion-dollar valuations. This is happening amid increasing concerns over rising interest rates, tech stock volatility and greater scrutiny into AI firms’ valuations, Reuters added.
OpenAI met with long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds last week while Anthropic was holding its own investor day, the report said. Sources told Reuters OpenAI’s funding round is expected to move more quickly than usual for an offering of its size.
Investors familiar with the company say OpenAI also needs funding to cover its massive infrastructure commitments and strengthen its balance sheet if a downturn in the IPO markets delays its initial public offering (IPO), planned for next year.
Some investors see OpenAI’s financing effort as an attempt to secure capital from funds that might otherwise shift more of their resources to Anthropic’s listing, Reuters’ sources said.
As covered here last week, Anthropic made the case during its investors day last week that while OpenAI earned almost $3 in revenue for every dollar Anthropic brought in, circumstances have changed. This year, Anthropic booked more in a single quarter than it did in all of 2025, and it did so at a profit, the company told investors.
“Anthropic’s climb has been steep,” that report said. “Revenue went from $4.8 billion in the first quarter to $11.6 billion in the second and $16.8 billion in the third. Each quarter this year has exceeded the company’s entire 2025.”
OpenAI’s lead has meanwhile come into sharper focus, PYMNTS added. The company has reportedly told backers its annualized revenue was nearing $50 billion at the end of September, about $20 billion less than the expected $70 billion.
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