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OpenAI is close to completing the first phase of a new funding round that could exceed $100 billion. People familiar with the talks told Bloomberg the deal could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $850 billion, which would set a new benchmark for private fundraising.
The talks keep OpenAI’s pre-money valuation at $730 billion, based on the current terms under discussion. The people familiar said the valuation could rise above $850 billion after the new capital comes in, which would exceed an earlier expectation of $830 billion.
The parties have not finalized the deal yet, and terms may shift. The first phase focuses on strategic corporate investors, while a later phase would bring in venture firms, sovereign wealth funds, and other financial backers that could lift the total raised beyond the first close.
Several investors plan to settle their allocations by the end of February 2026. The structure also expects multiple tranches across the year, which would spread cash inflows over time rather than deliver all funds at once.
The first phase centers on commitments from Amazon.com, Inc., SoftBank Group Corp., NVIDIA Corporation, and Microsoft Corporation, according to people familiar with the matter. If those companies invest near the highest ranges discussed, the combined commitments would approach $100 billion for the initial phase.
The figures under discussion include Amazon investing up to $50 billion, SoftBank staking as much as $30 billion, and the OpenAI-NVIDIA partnership with a potential $20 billion commitment. The funding would arrive in installments during 2026, which would align capital delivery with OpenAI’s expanding buildout plans.
SoftBank’s shares rose as much as 4% in Tokyo trading after the market absorbed the financing discussions. SoftBank had accumulated an ownership stake of about 11% as of December, based on company disclosures and the deal context described in recent updates.
The companies involved have not confirmed the fundraising terms in public statements. Representatives for OpenAI and the named corporate investors declined to comment or did not respond immediately, based on the outreach described alongside the deal discussions.
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The planned capital supports OpenAI’s push to secure more chips, data center capacity, and long-term compute access. One person familiar with the talks said OpenAI expects to expand its use of Amazon chips and cloud services as part of the broader relationship linked to the investment.
OpenAI has also moved to expand capacity outside the United States through structured partnerships that emphasize data center supply. In India, the firm said it will work with the Tata Group and Tata Consultancy Services to develop local, AI-ready data center capacity, starting with 100 megawatts and with the potential to scale to one gigawatt over time.
OpenAI framed the India effort as part of its global infrastructure push, designed to support data residency and long-term domestic capability. The company also said it will become the first customer of TCS’s HyperVault data center business under the initial 100-megawatt commitment.
If OpenAI closes the first phase on the current terms, the round would rank among the largest private financings on record. The final fundraising total will still depend on later closings and final allocations, which the parties have not completed yet.
