OpenAI seeks $1.5 trillion valuation even as investors offer $1.2 trillion | What is driving the higher price?

OpenAI seeks a valuation of $1.5 trillion in its funding round, despite offers around $1.2 trillion. The company cites increased traction with Codex and new A.I. models as justification. 

OpenAI is looking for a valuation of at least $1.5 trillion in a fresh funding round, even as investors have offered to invest at a valuation of about $1.2 trillion.

OpenAI believes it should be offered a higher price based on increased customer traction with its coding tool, Codex, and its latest A.I. models, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The New York Times.

While ChatGPT established OpenAI as a consumer AI platform, coding is emerging as a potentially important enterprise use case. Tools such as Codex can become embedded in software-development workflows, potentially encouraging companies to spend more on AI services.

OpenAI generated more than $40 billion in annualised revenue last month, roughly double its sales figure at the end of last year.

Any decision to move forward with the fundraising effort will hinge on exactly when OpenAI decides to go public, a person familiar with the talks said, asking not to be identified. The talks were initiated by investors, according to a Bloomberg report.

More funding likely to buy more time before IPO

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman told Fortune earlier that the company’s long-anticipated IPO is still in the works, but would not happen this year. The additional funding, if the AI giant takes it, would provide flexibility to potentially push back its IPO further, by one or two quarters, another person familiar said.

Another reason OpenAI could consider additional fundraising would be to support more mergers and acquisitions, the person said.

The company has spent billions acquiring startups, including Apple Inc. veteran Jony Ive’s AI device startup io and Astral, a startup that makes Python tools for developers.

Sanchari Ghosh