OpenAI cuts funding target by $10 billion to about $20 billion as AI stocks slide

OpenAI has cut the target for its latest funding round by $10 billion to about $20 billion, and lowered the valuation to $1.25 trillion, the Financial Times reported on Friday, in a story carried by Reuters and Business Recorder. Some investors reduced their allocations before Friday's deadline to commit, and the first close is now expected to raise less than $20 billion.

At today's interbank rate on our dollar to rupee page, $20 billion is about Rs 5.5 trillion.

Who is still in

• A UAE consortium that includes MGX, the state-backed technology fund, is expected to be the largest investor. In return OpenAI would get an option to lease new computing capacity in the Gulf.
• Founders Fund, Coatue, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are also expected to take part.
• Wealthy individuals will be able to buy in later through a retail offering at the same $1.25 trillion valuation.

OpenAI, MGX and the venture firms did not immediately comment to Reuters.

Why the target fell

The cut follows a sharp fall in technology shares on worries that companies are spending too much on artificial intelligence for too little return. The Nasdaq fell 2.9% on Friday and is 7.8% below its record close of 6 October. In the same week Alphabet lost about $500 billion in market value in a day and Intel had its worst session in decades, as we reported.

OpenAI is preparing to list its shares in 2027, and earlier Reuters reporting said it wanted to close this round before Anthropic's expected listing, since both companies are chasing the same pool of large investors.

What it means in Pakistan

For the millions of Pakistanis who use ChatGPT, nothing changes today: prices and access are not tied to this round. The bigger signal is for Pakistan's software exporters and freelancers, many of whom now sell AI work to US clients. A cooling in AI investment would slow new contracts first at start-ups, the firms that hire most offshore help. If you earn in dollars, our freelancer tax calculator shows what you keep after tax at current rates.