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OpenAI Pursues $100 Billion Raise as 'Code Red' Refocuses ChatGPT and SoftBank Rushes $22.5 Billion

The company has shifted staff to a 'code red' sprint on ChatGPT to blunt rising competitive pressure.

Overview

  • OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $100 billion in a private round that could value the company at about $830 billion, with a goal of closing by the end of the first quarter and potential participation from sovereign wealth funds, according to the Wall Street Journal as cited by TechCrunch.
  • Reuters reports SoftBank is racing to deliver a $22.5 billion funding commitment by year-end through asset sales and expanded margin loans against Arm, following an April deal that set OpenAI’s valuation near $300 billion.
  • OpenAI has discussed a potential investment of at least $10 billion from Amazon tied to commercial and cloud partnerships, including possible access to the tech giant’s AI chips, multiple reports say.
  • To secure compute capacity, OpenAI and partners received regulatory clearance for a 1.4-gigawatt Michigan data center campus as part of broader “Stargate” buildout plans, with Altman outlining multiyear targets for vast new training and inference infrastructure.
  • Following an internal 'code red' to prioritize core quality, OpenAI accelerated releases including GPT-5.2 and a new image model, while Sam Altman warned Google remains a “huge threat” and said such sprints may recur once or twice a year.