OpenAI investors propose new funding round, company not in formal talks

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.

OpenAI declined to comment. The Financial Times was first to report the potential round.

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.

Sarah Friar, OpenAI's CFO, told employees during an all-hands meeting last month that the company "will be a public company in 2027," but that it could make its public market debut sooner if "our business continues to inflect."