TechCrunch Startup News OpenAI is reportedly trying to raise $100B at an $830B valuation; also, Krafton hikes India bet with new $670M fund
Dec 19, 2025
OpenAI is on a mission to raise a staggering $100 billion by 2026, seeking investments from sovereign wealth funds to support its hefty spending on AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, Krafton is expanding its footprint in India with a new $669 million Unicorn Growth Fund in partnership with Naver. This fund will focus on tech startups, moving beyond gaming, and aims to leverage past successes in the region. Overall, the podcast dives into significant funding trends and strategic shifts in the tech industry.
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OpenAI's Massive Fundraise Signals Scale Race
- OpenAI is reportedly seeking up to $100 billion at an $830 billion valuation to fund massive AI compute and expansion.
- The raise responds to rising inferencing costs, chip shortages, and intensifying competition from Anthropic and Google.
Spending On Inferencing Outruns Credits
- OpenAI's spending prioritizes inferencing and model releases to stay ahead of rivals and expand developer tooling.
- This growth strategy increases cash needs beyond cloud credits, pushing the company toward large external funding or IPO options.
AI Hype Meets Supply And Capital Limits
- Investor enthusiasm for AI has cooled amid doubts about sustained, debt-fueled investment by giants like Microsoft and Amazon.
- Memory chip shortages further threaten the sector's growth and ability to scale compute-intensive models.