ChatGPT parent OpenAI has raised $8.3 billion in new capital at a $300 billion valuation as part of its ongoing $40 billion fundraising effort, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The fresh funding comes as the company's business rapidly scales, with annual recurring revenue climbing to $13 billion—up from $10 billion in June—and projected to surpass $20 billion by the end of the year, CNBC reported on Friday.
The move accelerated OpenAI's path toward a $40 billion fundraising goal for 2025.
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The number of paid ChatGPT business users grew to five million from three million in just a few months.
According to the report, the company closed the oversubscribed round months ahead of schedule, after securing $2.5 billion from venture firms in March in a SoftBank-led effort.
Dragoneer Investment Group led OpenAI's latest tranche with a $2.8 billion contribution, joining a group of prominent investors including Blackstone, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity. While Dragoneer topped the list in this round, SoftBank remains the lead backer of the broader $40 billion raise.
OpenAI had planned to raise an additional $7.5 billion by year-end, but investor demand surged as the company posted rapid growth.
Reportedly, OpenAI reached $12 billion in annualized revenue and surpassed 700 million weekly active ChatGPT users.
Strong market interest, combined with momentum from the Trump administration's AI Action Plan and ongoing talks with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), is helping OpenAI accelerate its transition toward becoming a fully for-profit enterprise.
These companies are sharply increasing capital expenditures on data centers, servers, and networking to scale AI development—transforming strategic ambition into real-world infrastructure.
Rival Anthropic seeks $3 billion to $5 billion in new funding at a potential valuation of $170 billion. Both firms are increasingly turning to Middle Eastern capital, with OpenAI partnering with G42 to build a large data center in Abu Dhabi.
JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee, in his analyst note, stated that Meta plans to spend nearly $100 billion by 2026, Alphabet raised its 2025 capex target to $85 billion, and Microsoft's September quarter spending exceeded $30 billion, putting it on track to top $100 billion annually.
OpenAI Vs. Microsoft
According to reports in March, tensions have emerged between OpenAI and Microsoft as both companies push for greater control over their partnership's future.
OpenAI is working to scale back Microsoft's ownership stake, reduce its revenue share, and assert more autonomy. In contrast, Microsoft aims to safeguard its investment and maintain priority access to OpenAI's technology.
These disagreements have prompted internal discussions at OpenAI about accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive practices.
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