OpenAI Cuts Valuation Target by $150 Billion to $1.25 Trillion Amid AI Boom Skepticism

OpenAI has lowered its valuation target by $150 billion, reducing its sought-after figure from $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion after investor pushback, the Financial Times reported. The Silicon Valley company is seeking to raise $30 billion ahead of a stock market listing expected next year. The reduction reflects mounting investor anxiety over the cost of sustaining the AI boom. More than $1 trillion was wiped off U.S. tech stocks on Thursday after Meta said it needed to raise "hundreds of billions of dollars" for AI investment, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned that a "scarcity of capital" was hampering AI rollout. Fears spilled into Asia on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling as much as 2.3% and down over 4% for the week. Oil's surge to a five-month high added to concerns. Coatue and investors from the United Arab Emirates are in talks to lead the new funding round. A $1.25 trillion valuation would still mark a 47% increase from the $852 billion valuation OpenAI secured in March, when it raised a record $122 billion.