How Much Did OpenAI Raise? Funding & Key Investors

OpenAI, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research company behind ChatGPT, has raised one of the largest cumulative funding totals in private technology history. Backed by some of the world's most influential corporations and investors, the company has rapidly grown from a nonprofit research lab to a commercial AI powerhouse. This article traces OpenAI's full funding history and highlights the key investors driving its growth.

Keep reading to explore OpenAI's remarkable fundraising journey — from a founding pledge in 2015 to a record-breaking $122 billion close in 2026.

What Is OpenAI?

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research and deployment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in December 2015 by Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Elon Musk, Ilya Sutskever, and others, OpenAI's stated mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. The company is best known for developing the GPT series of large language models and the widely-used ChatGPT product, which launched in November 2022 and quickly became one of the fastest-growing consumer applications in history. OpenAI operates as a capped-profit company, with a nonprofit parent entity overseeing its commercial arm.

How Much Funding Has OpenAI Raised?

1. Founding Pledge (Grant / Nonprofit)
   • Amount Raised: ~$130M actually received (of $1B pledged)
   • Date: December 2015
   • Lead Investors: Undisclosed (no formal lead)
   • Participants: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, Jessica Livingston, Amazon Web Services, Infosys, YC Research
2. Corporate Round — Microsoft
   • Amount Raised: USD 1,000,000,000
   • Date: July 22, 2019
   • Lead Investors: Microsoft
   • Participants: Microsoft
3. Corporate Round — Microsoft (Extended Partnership)
   • Amount Raised: USD 10,000,000,000
   • Date: January 23, 2023
   • Lead Investors: Microsoft
   • Participants: Microsoft
4. Secondary Share Sale
   • Amount Raised: USD 300,000,000
   • Date: April 28, 2023
   • Lead Investors: Undisclosed (no single disclosed lead)
   • Participants: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, Tiger Global, K2 Global
5. Series E — Primary Round
   • Amount Raised: USD 6,600,000,000
   • Date: October 2, 2024
   • Lead Investors: Thrive Capital
   • Participants: Microsoft, Nvidia, Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, SoftBank, MGX (Abu Dhabi)
6. Revolving Credit Facility (Debt)
   • Amount: USD 4,000,000,000
   • Date: October 3, 2024
   • Lead Investors: Undisclosed (syndicated)
   • Participants: JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Santander, Wells Fargo, SMBC, UBS, HSBC
7. Secondary Share Sale (Employee Liquidity)
   • Amount Raised: USD 6,600,000,000
   • Date: October 2, 2025
   • Valuation: $500 billion post-money
   • Lead Investors: Undisclosed (employee share sale)
   • Participants: SoftBank and institutional buyers
8. Series F — Primary Round
   • Amount Raised: USD 40,000,000,000
   • Date: March 31, 2025
   • Lead Investors: SoftBank Group
   • Participants: Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, Thrive Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group
9. Series Unknown — Primary Round (Announced Feb 27, Closed Mar 31, 2026)
   • Amount Raised: USD 122,000,000,000
   • Date: March 31, 2026 (announced February 27, 2026)
   • Post-Money Valuation: $852 billion
   • Lead Investors: Amazon ($50B), SoftBank ($30B), NVIDIA ($30B); co-leads include Andreessen Horowitz, D.E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, T. Rowe Price
   • Participants: Altimeter, Appaloosa LP, ARK Invest, BlackRock affiliates, Blackstone, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, Dragoneer, Fidelity, Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Temasek, Sound Ventures, UC Investments, Winslow Capital, and others

Total Amount Raised: At least $190.6B based on disclosed funding rounds (including the $122B final close, $40B Series F, $6.6B Series E, $10B Microsoft 2023, $4B credit facility, $6.6B secondary 2025, $300M secondary 2023, $1B Microsoft 2019, and ~$130M founding pledges received).

Key Investors

• Microsoft
  • Details: Microsoft is OpenAI's longest-standing major corporate investor, having made an initial $1 billion investment in July 2019, a landmark $10 billion commitment in January 2023, and continued participation in subsequent rounds. Microsoft is also OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider through Azure, giving the company access to massive compute resources.
• SoftBank Group
  • Details: SoftBank led the $40 billion Series F round in March 2025, investing $30 billion of that total. The Japanese conglomerate also committed $30 billion in the February 2026 round and participated in the 2025 secondary share sale at a $500B valuation, cementing its position as one of OpenAI's most significant capital partners.
• Amazon
  • Details: Amazon made a landmark $50 billion anchor commitment in the February/March 2026 round — the single largest individual investor contribution in OpenAI's history. The deal also included a strategic cloud and AI infrastructure partnership.
• NVIDIA
  • Details: NVIDIA committed $30 billion in the 2026 round (a significant portion in dedicated GPU compute capacity), reinforcing the strategic alignment between the world's leading AI chip maker and the leading AI model developer. NVIDIA also participated in the October 2024 Series E.
• Thrive Capital
  • Details: Thrive Capital led the October 2024 $6.6 billion Series E round with approximately $1.2 billion, negotiating a right to invest an additional $1 billion at the same valuation if OpenAI hits revenue targets. Thrive also participated in subsequent rounds.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
  • Details: A prominent early backer of OpenAI, a16z participated in the April 2023 secondary share sale and was a co-lead investor in the 2026 $122 billion round alongside Amazon, SoftBank, and NVIDIA.
• Khosla Ventures
  • Details: One of OpenAI's earliest VC backers — Vinod Khosla reportedly invested $50 million in an early round. Khosla Ventures also returned in the October 2024 Series E, investing approximately $405 million. The firm is among OpenAI's most consistent venture capital supporters.
• Sequoia Capital
  • Details: Sequoia Capital participated in the April 2023 secondary share sale and was a participant in the 2026 mega-round, reflecting ongoing conviction in OpenAI's long-term trajectory.

What's Next for OpenAI?

With over $122 billion raised in its latest round alone and a post-money valuation of $852 billion, OpenAI is positioning itself for continued AI dominance and a potential IPO. The company is investing heavily in next-generation AI infrastructure, expanding its Stargate joint venture with SoftBank and Oracle, and scaling its global compute capacity through partnerships with Amazon, NVIDIA, and Microsoft. A public listing — long speculated — appears increasingly imminent, with internal restructuring into a for-profit entity already underway. OpenAI's trajectory suggests it will remain the defining force in artificial intelligence development for years to come.

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