OpenAI has closed roughly $11 billion of a funding round that could ultimately reach $20 billion, after the ChatGPT maker scaled back its ambitions amid a brutal week for AI stocks on Wall Street.

The round values OpenAI at $1.25 trillion, down from the $1.4 trillion the company had originally pitched to investors just weeks ago, according to a Bloomberg report published Friday. OpenAI had initially sought $30 billion or more; the rest of the round is expected to close in the coming weeks, though the company hasn't said whether it will reach that original target.

A rough week to be raising money

The timing is brutal. OpenAI's scaled-back raise closed the same week the Dow plunged roughly 1,800 points and the Nasdaq fell into correction territory on fears that AI infrastructure spending has outrun what the technology can actually monetize. Nvidia alone has shed nearly $1.4 trillion in market value since its October peak, and Wall Street's main fear gauge, the VIX, spiked 70% during the selloff.

OpenAI had delayed its own planned IPO and spent more than a month negotiating this round before settling for less. The company previously raised $122 billion in March at an $852 billion valuation — meaning its valuation has still roughly tripled in eight months, even at the reduced $1.25 trillion figure.

A PUBLIC MARKET ROUT FOR THE AI SECTOR

That's how Bloomberg characterized the backdrop that pushed OpenAI to cut its ask, citing investor anxiety over data-center construction costs and the possibility of new regulatory limits following this week's midterm elections, in which Democrats made sweeping gains.

The slimmed-down round underscores how quickly sentiment around the AI trade has shifted. Just months ago, OpenAI was fielding demand far in excess of what it needed; this time, some of the same large investors reportedly showed only tepid interest at the lower valuation, a shift that mirrors the broader pullback hitting chipmakers, cloud providers and AI-adjacent stocks across the market.

What's next

OpenAI declined to comment on the round, and the investors funding this tranche haven't been disclosed. The company is expected to keep seeking the remaining capital over the coming weeks as it tries to reach the $20 billion ceiling — a target that now looks far more realistic than the $30 billion it first floated.