OpenAI has received an initial funding amount of $11 billion, and its valuation has been estimated at $1.25 trillion. The initial target for fundraising was $30 billion, but this amount has been reduced to a maximum of $20 billion.

The first money of OpenAI’s new round of financing has been received, approximately US$11 billion, with a valuation of US$1.25 trillion. The money had been transferred to the company's account before last Friday.

The remaining parts are still being negotiated and are expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, with the entire round adding up to around $20 billion at most.

Compare the original deal: More than a month ago, OpenAI wanted to raise at least 30 billion at a valuation of 1.4 trillion. Now the valuation has dropped by 150 billion, and the total has been reduced by one-third.

The reason for the shrinkage is not difficult to find. After the IPO was postponed, it turned to private equity. However, during this period, AI stocks were sold very hard in the secondary market. The chip sector retreated by more than 30% from its high point, and the chips in the hands of investors also became more expensive.

At the same time, the news from Anthropic was not good either. The expected valuation given by potential buyers dropped from about 2 trillion a month ago to around 1.1 trillion. The valuations of the two leading companies have been revised downward at the same time, indicating that the market has begun to seriously calculate accounts, rather than just looking at whose model is stronger.

But $11 billion in cash is still a scary number. Computing power contracts, data centers, and electricity all cost tens of billions. This money is more like paying off next year's bills first.

What will be seen in the next few weeks is whether the second tranche can be negotiated at a price of 1.25 trillion. If the discount goes down further, it won't be a company's problem.