Open AI is considering a new funding round that would value the artificial intelligence start-up at about $1.5 trillion ahead of its planned initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. If successful, it would roughly double Open AI’s most recent private valuation of $730 billion, crowning the Chat GPT maker as the world’s most valuable privately held company. The people, who requested anonymity to share details, stressed that no decisions had been made and plans may change.

Investors recently approached Open AI with a proposal to invest at a $1.2 trillion valuation. But Open AI believes it should be valued at least $1.5 trillion based on increased customer traction with Codex and its latest A.I. models, GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol. Open AI generated more than $40 billion in annualized revenue last month and expects to go public next year. Chief executive Sam Altman said the company delayed its I.P.O. to focus on safety risks from A.I., though it had already shelved a 2026 public offering to shore up finances.

Open AI confidentially filed its draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June and must navigate securities laws when sharing confidential information with investors. It has raised more than $180 billion since 2015. Rival Anthropic is preparing to go public this fall; chief executive Dario Amodei’s start-up could raise more than $100 billion at a $2 trillion valuation.