OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, closed a historic funding round on March 31, 2026, raising $122 billion and achieving a post-money valuation of $852 billion. This marks the largest single private capital raise in history, surpassing the $100 billion target the company had discussed since early 2026.
Funding Details and Investor Lineup
The round built on a $110 billion commitment announced on February 27, 2026, which implied a pre-money valuation of $730 billion. CFO Sarah Friar confirmed on March 24 to CNBC that an additional $10 to $12 billion had come in, bringing the final total above expectations. Amazon led the round with $50 billion, which includes an expanded cloud agreement worth an additional $100 billion over eight years. Nvidia contributed $30 billion, deepening its computing partnership, while Softbank also committed $30 billion as a co-leader. Microsoft, a longtime partner, continued its participation.
Other co-leaders and major financial investors include A16z, D.E. Shaw Ventures, Abu Dhabi's MGX, TPG, and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price Associates. Broader institutional participation came from Altimeter, Appaloosa LP, Ark Invest, funds affiliated with Blackrock and Blackstone, Coatue, Fidelity Management & Research, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Temasek, and UC Investments.
For the first time, OpenAI raised over $3 billion through bank channels targeting retail investors. The company also expanded its revolving credit facility to approximately $4.7 billion, backed by a global consortium including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and several international banks. Ark Invest plans to include OpenAI in multiple ETFs.
Capital Allocation and Strategy
The funds will be deployed into computing infrastructure, model development, and product expansion. OpenAI describes its growth model as a flywheel: more compute enables better models, which drive product adoption, generating revenue for reinvestment. The company is diversifying its compute base across Microsoft, Oracle, AWS, Coreweave, and Google Cloud, and is developing its own chip in partnership with Broadcom.
On the product front, OpenAI is building a unified AI superapp that combines ChatGPT, Codex, browsing, and agentic tools. Codex, now positioned as a flagship coding agent, reached 2 million weekly users in recent months with monthly growth of 70%. The company's advertising pilot exceeded $100 million in annualized revenue within six weeks of launch.
Key Operational Metrics
ChatGPT now has over 900 million weekly active users and more than 50 million paying subscribers. OpenAI reports monthly revenue of $2 billion, with enterprise clients contributing over 40% of that amount. Its APIs process more than 15 billion tokens per minute.
This fundraising follows a $40 billion round completed in 2025 and reflects OpenAI's shift from research roots to large-scale infrastructure and commercial operations. The company compared the capital investment to building electrical grids or highway systems. The funding expands OpenAI's ownership base ahead of an expected IPO, with 2026 previously cited as a possible target year. The value of the company's nonprofit stake is now estimated at over $180 billion.
In its official announcement, OpenAI highlighted no major uncertainties or structural concerns, describing the investor base as a reflection of "deep conviction in the global capital market," spanning technology companies, sovereign funds, traditional venture capital, and large institutional asset managers. The next phase of work, the company says, will focus on developing AGI and extending AI's benefits to health, science, and the economy.