OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $100 billion in a funding round that could value the ChatGPT maker at up to $830 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources.
The company is aiming to raise the funding by the end of the calendar first quarter next year, and it may ask sovereign wealth funds to invest in the round, the WSJ reported. The Information first reported news of the deal, though it said the fundraise would land OpenAI a $750 billion price tag.
The funding would come as OpenAI commits to spend trillions of dollars and strikes deals around the world as the company tries to stay ahead in the race to develop AI technology. The cash injection would also help the company with its spending on inferencing, which seems to be funded more by cash than cloud credits, suggesting the company’s compute costs have grown beyond what partnerships and credits can subsidize.
And, as competition intensifies from rivals like Anthropic and Google, OpenAI has had to step on the gas to release new models and expand its presence in the developer and tooling ecosystem.
Meanwhile, broader sentiment around AI has recently cooled as investors start doubting whether the pace of debt-fueled investment by giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, and OpenAI itself can be maintained in the long run. It also doesn’t help that the production of chips is being constrained by shortages in the supply of memory chips, which threatens to affect the broader tech sector.
OpenAI has also been rumored to be working on an IPO as a way to raise tens of billions and fund its development efforts, which are currently said to be generating annual run-rate revenue of about $20 billion. There are also rumors that the company is courting Amazon for a $10 billion investment that would also give the AI lab access to the tech giant’s new AI computing chips.
If the fundraise happens, it would add a substantial amount to OpenAI’s coffers, which currently have more than $64 billion, according to PitchBook data. The company was most recently valued at about $500 billion in a secondary transaction.
OpenAI did not immediately return a request for comment.
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![Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
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San Francisco, CA
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October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials](https://i1.wp.com/techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/53200897797_87d290a75e_o.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 "Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials")
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