OpenAI is now seeking up to $20 billion in its latest funding round, down from an earlier target of about $30 billion, CNBC confirmed, citing a person directly familiar with the deal.

The Financial Times first reported the $10 billion cut, and the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI has secured about $11 billion so far — money committed, not yet collected. The round remains open and figures could still change, the CNBC source cautioned.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The Financial Times reports the round would value OpenAI at $1.25 trillion on a post-money basis — down from the $1.4 trillion first pitched to investors about a week earlier, a paper markdown of roughly $150 billion.

Pasquale Pillitteri's analysis notes the two figures may not use the same pre- and post-money criteria, so the comparison should be read with caution. Even the reduced number would still be a record valuation for a private company.

According to the Financial Times, investors from the United Arab Emirates are leading the round, with CNBC noting Coatue's involvement. The Pasquale Pillitteri report names MGX, a UAE-backed fund, as the likely lead, alongside SoftBank, Founders Fund, Coatue, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.

To fill the gap, the FT says OpenAI set a Friday, October 30 deadline for commitments, saw some investors trim allocations, and plans a later offering to family offices and wealthy individuals at the same $1.25 trillion valuation.

The timing tracks a bruising week for AI-linked stocks. CNBC reports Intel fell 25% on lackluster revenue guidance, Micron dropped 5.5% and Nvidia slid 4%, while Microsoft, Google and Amazon all issued capex figures or forecasts below analysts' estimates.

Alphabet suffered its worst trading day ever after search revenue missed expectations.

The Pasquale Pillitteri analysis says the sector shed a trillion dollars in days, making a $1.4 trillion private valuation look richer than before — though it cautions no one has proven the selloff caused the round to stall.

The stakes extend beyond one round. According to the Financial Times, Anthropic aims to go public next month at a valuation of at least $1.5 trillion after publishing its listing document on October 26, with the ticker ANT confirmed and third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion.

The Decoder, cited by Pasquale Pillitteri, notes a successful listing would leave Anthropic with well over $100 billion in cash, while the Wall Street Journal reports OpenAI is weighing a listing as early as next year — a weaker position after a disappointing close.

The round has not closed, and CNBC's source stresses amounts can move up or down. OpenAI has told shareholders it expects to raise more in the coming weeks, targeting family offices and wealthy individuals toward the $20 billion ceiling.

The Tech Buzz frames the cut as an inflection point: the end of growth-at-all-costs AI funding, with investors demanding sustainable unit economics. For the hundreds of startups that raised at aggressive valuations, the bar just got higher.