OpenAI has closed $11 billion of a funding round valuing it at $1.25 trillion, even as AI stocks tumbled sharply following a Democratic midterm sweep that investors fear could slow the U.S. data center buildout.
OpenAI has raised $11 billion in a new funding round that values the company at $1.25 trillion, even as AI and semiconductor stocks suffered sharp declines following a Democratic sweep of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections.
The $11 billion represents a partial close of a larger round that has not yet finalized, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The round is expected to close in the coming weeks and could total approximately $20 billion. That figure falls well short of the $30 billion OpenAI had been reported to be seeking when Bloomberg first described the fundraise in late September.
TechCrunch reported that OpenAI had not responded to a request for comment as of Friday.
The fundraise arrives at a turbulent moment for the AI sector. Democrats secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's elections, rattling investors who had built significant positions around the anticipated expansion of AI infrastructure across the United States.
Nvidia fell 9.3% on Thursday, while AMD shed 17.3%, Micron dropped 17.5%, Broadcom fell 10.4%, and Microsoft lost 3.6%. Tesla and SpaceX declined 10.8% and 9.1%, respectively, contributing to a combined market cap loss of more than $420 billion for the two Elon Musk-led companies. Neocloud operators fared no better, with Nebius dropping 15%, Iren falling 17%, and CoreWeave declining 10% on the same session.
By Friday morning, U.S. tech stocks were showing signs of recovery, though analysts cautioned that the volatility reflected deeper structural concerns.
"The regulatory and political risks arise at a time when the proverbial AI trade was already on shakier foundations," wrote Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, in a note Thursday. Earnings season had been an "overall disappointment" for the markets, he added, with Magnificent Seven results "undershooting growth expectations and flashing warning signs that the pace of AI spending is slowing down."
Between January 2024 and May 2026, at least 46 AI data center projects across 20 U.S. states, representing more than $170 billion in announced investment, were blocked, withdrawn, or stalled following community opposition, according to research by the International Data Center Authority. Dozens of additional local ballot measures in 10 states were on Tuesday's ballot that would restrict data center construction in various ways.
Dan Ives, partner at Yorkville Ives & Co., wrote in a note Wednesday that Democrats taking control, particularly over the Senate, "will create some major hurdles for AI over the next two years." He added that the firm now believes Big Tech capital expenditure growth will peak in 2027, rather than the 2028 or 2029 window the firm had previously projected.
Goldman Sachs estimates that AI-related capital spending could total approximately $7.6 trillion from 2026 through 2031, spanning computing, data centers, and power infrastructure.
Dominique Toublan, head of U.S. credit strategy at Barclays Investment Bank, offered a measured read on the political risk. "AI pushback is bipartisan but local, making the buildout pricier rather than stalling it," Toublan wrote. "The AI race shifts from a prisoner's dilemma to a war of attrition: scarce power favors the biggest balance sheets."
The uncertainty is also registering in the private markets. Potential buyers of shares in a forthcoming Anthropic IPO are now eyeing a valuation as low as $1.1 trillion, compared with the $2 trillion that investors had been expecting roughly a month ago, according to Bloomberg. OpenAI had previously indicated it would go public this year before delaying those plans; expectations have shifted to sometime in 2026.
With OpenAI's round still open and the broader AI investment landscape clouded by political and regulatory headwinds, how much additional capital the company ultimately attracts — and at what terms — will serve as a real-time test of investor conviction in the sector's near-term prospects.
Jay Goldberg is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering technology, markets, and policy. He files the breaking news and deal coverage that move the publication's core desks.
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