Key points
- OpenAI is in early talks with investors on a new round at a valuation above $1.2 trillion, per the Financial Times and Bloomberg. The New York Times reports OpenAI is pushing for $1.5 trillion against a $1.2 trillion offer.
- That is a 41% step-up from the $852 billion post-money set in March 2026, when the company raised $122 billion.
- On PMView's implied share count, $1.2 trillion works out to roughly $970 a share. $1.5 trillion is about $1,210. The March round priced near $688.
- The secondary tape last cleared in the $690 to $770 range in April, and there have been no prints in the last 90 days. PMView's current mark is $722, an implied $894 billion.
- Sam Altman said on September 12 that an IPO before 2027 is unlikely. The talks were started by investors, not the company, and can still shrink or fall apart.
Why it matters
For anyone holding OpenAI stock through an SPV, a forward, or directly, a primary round at $1.2 trillion resets the reference price about a third above where the secondary market has been trading. For buyers, it means the discount to the last round that made OpenAI secondaries attractive this spring is about to be re-based against a much higher number. And with the IPO pushed into 2027, the private market stays the only exit for at least another year.
What was reported
The Financial Times reported on September 15 that OpenAI is holding early talks with investors about a fresh round that would value the company at more than $1.2 trillion. Bloomberg confirmed the figure the same day. A day later the New York Times put the company's own ask at $1.5 trillion, describing $1.2 trillion as what investors had offered.
The spread between the two numbers is $300 billion, and nobody has said which is pre-money and which is post-money. Talks this early routinely shrink. What both reports agree on:
- The approach came from investors, not from OpenAI.
- Existing investors would be able to increase their stakes before an IPO.
- OpenAI is reviewing what information it can legally share with private investors ahead of a listing.
- The company has not commented.
The context is a business that Bloomberg reported was running at roughly $40 billion in annualized revenue as of August, about double the end-of-2025 pace, against training spend the FT put at $34 billion last year. One source's summary to the FT: "OpenAI needs capital."
The IPO is a 2027 story now
OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO in June. On September 12, Altman told Fortune that "given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that."
That confirms the direction we flagged in June, when advisers were reportedly split between waiting for a $1 trillion listing and cutting the target to list sooner. The answer is now clear: wait, and raise privately at a number well above $1 trillion in the meantime.
A private round does two things an IPO would have done. It brings in capital, and it prints a new valuation. What it does not do is create liquidity for anyone who is not invited in. That is the part that matters for secondary holders.
What the round price looks like per share
Headline valuations are hard to trade against. Shares are not. Using PMView's implied fully diluted share count for OpenAI, about 1.24 billion shares, the numbers translate as follows.
| Reference point | Valuation | Implied price per share |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 round (post-money) | $852B | ~$688 |
| PMView current mark | $894B | $722 |
| Reported investor offer | $1.2T | ~$970 |
| Reported OpenAI ask | $1.5T | ~$1,210 |
Two things stand out.
The secondary market never priced above the March round by much. Across the four prints PMView recorded in April 2026, the average was about $730 a share, in a $694 to $767 range. That is a 6% premium to the round. Our current mark of $722 sits in the same neighborhood. A $1.2 trillion round would be 34% above the mark. A $1.5 trillion round would be 68% above it.
The tape has gone quiet. PMView has no OpenAI prints in the last 90 days. The last activity was in early June, around the confidential filing. Sellers who expected an IPO exit stopped selling. Buyers who wanted a discount to a coming listing stopped bidding. A new round would restart that market with a new anchor.
What it means for holders
If you own OpenAI and were considering selling. The reference price is about to move up, but the secondary market will not move all the way with it. Historically, OpenAI secondaries have cleared at or slightly above the last round, not at a premium to a round that has not closed. Expect bids to re-base off $1.2 trillion only once the round is signed, and expect a discount to it.
If you are a buyer. The window where OpenAI could be bought near the March round price is closing. Whether $970 a share is a good entry depends entirely on whether you believe a $40 billion run rate doubling again justifies a $1.2 trillion mark. That is a judgment call. What is not a judgment call is that the entry price is going up.
If you hold through an SPV or a forward. Check your documents now. Some structures carry a right of first refusal that triggers on a company-led round, and tender terms, if OpenAI attaches an employee tender to this raise as it did in October 2025, often exclude derivative holders.
The wider read
OpenAI raising privately at $1.2 trillion instead of listing at $1 trillion says something about the market beyond OpenAI. SpaceX's staggered lockup and rough debut in June made the largest private companies cautious about public pricing. Private capital, meanwhile, is willing to pay more than the public market was expected to. Anthropic, also with a confidential filing on record, is watching the same numbers.
For the secondary market that means the IPO wave that was supposed to drain the late-stage private market in 2026 is instead being refinanced inside it. That keeps the assets private, keeps them scarce, and keeps price discovery where it has been: in the tape.
Sources: Financial Times via Bloomberg, September 15, 2026; Fortune, September 16, 2026; PYMNTS, September 16, 2026; 24/7 Wall St. on the $1.2T vs $1.5T discrepancy. Per-share figures are PMView estimates from the platform's implied share count and monthly secondary aggregates; individual trades are available to Pro subscribers on the OpenAI dossier.