OpenAI Opens New Funding Talks at Valuation of Up to $1.2 Trillion

The significance here is less the headline valuation than the financing structure around it: a trillion-dollar private mark, a public listing pushed out, and a backer whose exit window keeps slipping while its credit risk is priced wider. That combination shifts the burden of funding AI compute onto private balance sheets and lenders rather than public markets, which matters for anyone tracking where AI capex ultimately gets financed. Whether the CDS widening proves idiosyncratic to one backer or a broader signal about AI-linked credit is the open question.