Even OpenAI is starting to cut its own prices. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, originally planned to raise $30 billion before going public, aiming for a $1.4 trillion valuation. Now, its fundraising target has been slashed to around $20 billion, with the valuation lowered to $1.25 trillion—cutting the amount it seeks by one-third. This round was meant to be the final “bridge” funding before its IPO, but the IPO date has now been pushed to 2027. The pressure comes from the U.S. stock market. Since hitting an all-time high on October 6, the Nasdaq 100 has dropped about 10% over three weeks, and recently fell 4.5% in a single day; Intel dropped 28.6% last night. With public companies crashing like this, private companies have no choice but to adjust their expectations. While the valuation drop of just over 10% doesn’t seem drastic, the real pain lies in the $10 billion less raised: OpenAI relies heavily on external funding to purchase computing power, so less money means less capacity it can afford. The most interesting twist? Its rival Anthropic—the maker of Claude—is expected to list on Nasdaq in November, with rumors suggesting a $1.5 trillion valuation and fundraising of up to $100 billion, even higher than OpenAI’s original target. Two leading AI companies are racing toward the same IPO window: one voluntarily lowering its price, the other raising its bid. Is ChatGPT admitting it’s falling behind Claude?