OpenAI $852 Billion Valuation: Three Cracks Already Worrying IPO Investors in 2026

# OpenAI $852 Billion Valuation: Three Cracks Already Worrying IPO Investors in 2026

> **Quick answer:** OpenAI closed a record $122 billion funding round on March 31, 2026, cementing an $852 billion valuation — but investors are already questioning it. The company burns more than twice what it earns, Anthropic just surpassed OpenAI in annualized revenue while spending four times less on model training, and internal leadership is openly divided on whether the company is even ready to go public. These are not minor concerns. They are structural.

OpenAI's $852 billion valuation IPO story is the most debated number in tech right now — and for good reason. The company generates $2 billion in revenue every single month, commands 900 million weekly ChatGPT users, and just raised $122 billion in a single funding round. By any surface reading, this is the most dominant AI company on earth. Look closer, and three serious cracks are forming in the foundation that every prospective IPO investor needs to understand.

## The $122 Billion Round That Raised More Questions Than It Answered

On March 31, 2026, OpenAI closed what is almost certainly the largest private funding round in technology history: $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation. To put that number in context, it makes OpenAI worth more than Goldman Sachs, more than Nike, and roughly the same as ExxonMobil — a company that has generated consistent profits for over a century.

The round was led by SoftBank and included participation from Microsoft, which has already committed $13.75 billion to OpenAI since 2019. The deal structurally required OpenAI to complete its corporate restructuring — converting from a capped-profit entity controlled by a nonprofit to a public benefit corporation — a transition Sam Altman finalized in early 2026 after months of regulatory negotiations with the attorneys general of California and Delaware.