OpenAI investors have approached the company about a new funding round

OpenAI investors have approached the company about a new funding round Skip Navigation Markets Business Investing Tech Politics & Policy Video Watchlist Investing Club PRO Livestream Menu Key Points OpenAI investors have approached the company with proposals to kickstart a new funding round, multiple sources told CNBC. The company is not actively engaging in conversations, the people said. OpenAI raised $122 billion at a $852 billion valuation in March. In this article OPENAI.FG Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 6:19 06:19 OpenAI investors have approached the company about a new funding round Squawk on the Street OpenAI investors have approached the company with proposals to kickstart a new funding round, but no formal discussions are underway, multiple sources told CNBC. Investors have floated a $1.2 trillion valuation to OpenAI, and some have positioned the potential new funding round as a way for employees to sell stock, according to the people, who asked not to be named in order to discuss nonpublic information. OpenAI, which raised $122 billion at a $852 billion valuation in March, is not currently engaged in conversations, the people said. Following the round, OpenAI completed a secondary share sale totaling roughly $7 billion in August, allowing employees to cash in a portion of their holdings. "We still have an incredible balance sheet," OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC's Jim Cramer in an interview on Tuesday. The Financial Times was first to report the potential round. OpenAI declined to comment. Read more CNBC tech news Two camps have emerged in the debate over AI safety and regulation AWS says it can't restore service to Bahrain, UAE facilities 6 months after Iran strikes Musk urges top AI labs, Chinese companies to test each other's models amid calls for slowdown Will AI really destroy humanity? Pioneers who created the tech weigh in OpenAI burst onto the mainstream in 2022 following the launch of its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT , and it's ballooned into one of the most valuable private companies in the world. The startup is gearing up for what is widely expected to be a blockbuster IPO next year, after it confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June. Friar told employees during an all-hands meeting last month that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027," but that it could make its public market debut sooner if "our business continues to inflect." OpenAI has been under intense scrutiny in recent months after two of its models escaped containment, accessed the open internet and breached the open-source developer platform Hugging Face . OpenAI CEO Sam Altman endorsed a proposal to slow the pace of model development on Saturday in an effort to better address safety risks. In an interview with Fortune on Saturday, Altman said that now would be an "ill-advised" moment to go public, in part because of the widespread concerns about safety. — CNBC's Kate Rooney and David Faber contributed to this article WATCH: OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar: I am a tech optimist, but it is also important to align around safety watch now VIDEO 12:01 12:01 OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar: I am a tech optimist, but it is also important to align around safety Mad Money with Jim Cramer Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. Nvidia's Huang diverges with CEOs of Anthropic, OpenAI on AI safety at Dreamforce Jordan Novet Trump’s opposition to AI rules undercuts industry's calls for a slowdown Lora Kolodny Anthropic's Amodei says China presents 'toughest dilemma' for his proposed AI slowdown Ashley Capoot Read More