OpenAI just cut its funding valuation target by $150 billion
OpenAI lowered its asking price to $1.25 trillion.
The short version
- Investors pushed back as public artificial intelligence stocks dropped.
- Microsoft shares fell 2.23 percent to $521 on Thursday.
- The funding round could reach $30 billion soon.
Why it matters to you. For your business, market shifts like this show how quickly sentiment can turn on high-flying technology sectors before reality hits the bottom line.
OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research lab behind ChatGPT, just slashed its funding ask by $150 billion to $1.25 trillion just as public artificial intelligence stocks cratered. On Thursday, October 22, 2026, the company reportedly cut the valuation it is asking from new investors after earlier pitching $1.4 trillion to potential backers including BlackRock, the massive asset management firm, and MGX, an investment fund from the United Arab Emirates.
According to 24/7 Wall St., no reason for the lower figure was reported as talks continue. Both numbers are pre-money asking prices, meaning the company’s value before new cash arrives, and nothing has been signed yet. Microsoft, which makes the Windows operating system and owns a massive stake in OpenAI, saw its shares fall $11.87 to $521.08 amid broader market fears about artificial intelligence spending.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is close to a funding round of up to $30 billion led by investors from the United Arab Emirates and Coatue, an investment firm. The round is presented as an opportunistic bridge ahead of a possible initial public offering, and chief financial officer Sarah Friar told employees the company will be public in 2027.
OpenAI also agreed to buy an extra $250 billion of Azure cloud services from Microsoft, whose revenue passed $100 billion for the first time.
Photo: HaeB, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
