OpenAI has cut the target for its latest funding round to as much as $20B, down from roughly $30B, CNBC confirmed on Saturday. The Financial Times reported the reduction first.
The round remains open. People familiar with the deal cautioned that terms could still move, and the company declined to comment.
The arithmetic behind the cut
The FT put the post-money valuation at $1.25T, below the $1.4T previously discussed, and said investors faced a Friday deadline to commit. Some responded by shrinking their allocations.
Investors from the United Arab Emirates are leading the round alongside Coatue, according to earlier CNBC reporting.
A week that shook the trade
The retreat follows a brutal stretch for AI-linked equities. Intel dropped about 25% on weak revenue guidance, Micron lost 5.5% and Nvidia fell 4% on Friday. Alphabet posted its worst trading day on record after search revenue missed, with its chief business officer partly blaming weaker monetization inside AI Mode.
Microsoft, Google and Amazon all guided capital spending below analyst estimates last week, which undercut the assumption that demand justifies any outlay.
A smaller round is not a verdict on OpenAI’s business, but it is the clearest signal yet that the price of AI ambition is being repriced by the people writing the checks.
