OpenAI Plans $10B Joint Venture with Four PE Firms to Capture Enterprise AI Market

OpenAI is negotiating with four private equity firms including TPG and Advent International to form a joint venture valued at $10 billion pre-investment. PE partners will invest a total of $4 billion, gaining equity and board seats, with TPG as the lead investor. OpenAI offers preferred stock to investors, with priority returns and limited downside risk.

Anthropic is also advancing a similar deal, negotiating with Blackstone and others to form a joint venture. PE partners will invest about $1 billion, but receive common stock without priority return protection.

Both companies' logic for partnering with PE is the same: PE firms control a large number of enterprise clients and AI budgets, and both aim to IPO this year. OpenAI's enterprise business annualized revenue reaches $10 billion, accounting for 40% of total revenue. The joint venture will also help promote its Frontier enterprise platform launched last month and the Frontier Alliances program with BCG and other partners. Currently, no parties have commented, and terms may change.