OpenAI and Anthropic Court Private Equity in Rival AI Joint Venture Deals

TLDR

• OpenAI is in advanced talks with TPG, Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield Asset Management to form a joint venture valued at $10 billion.
• The PE firms would invest $4 billion and receive equity stakes plus board seats in the new venture.
• Rival Anthropic is also in talks with Blackstone, Permira, and Hellman & Friedman for a similar deal, with PE firms putting in around $1 billion.
• Both AI companies are racing to lock in corporate clients before potential IPOs later this year.
• OpenAI is offering preferred equity in its venture; Anthropic is offering common equity, which carries fewer investor protections.

OpenAI is in advanced talks with four major private equity firms to create a joint venture that would sell its AI products to large companies. The firms involved are TPG, Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield Asset Management, according to Reuters sources.

The proposed venture carries a pre-money valuation of around $10 billion. The private equity firms would put in $4 billion combined and receive equity stakes in return. TPG is set to be the lead investor, committing the most capital.

All four firms would receive board seats in the new venture. The deal would also give them early access to OpenAI’s enterprise tools and a share in future growth beyond their own portfolio companies.

OpenAI’s enterprise business currently generates $10 billion of its $25 billion in total annualized revenue. The joint venture is seen as a way to speed up corporate adoption of OpenAI’s products.

The venture would help distribute OpenAI’s enterprise platform, called Frontier. That platform launched last month as part of a program called Frontier Alliances, which pairs OpenAI engineers with consulting firms like BCG, McKinsey, Accenture, and Capgemini.

Anthropic Running a Parallel Process

Anthropic is also in talks with private equity firms for a similar arrangement. The firms in those discussions include Blackstone, Permira, and Hellman & Friedman.

Under Anthropic’s proposed deal, the private equity firms would take an equity stake of around $1 billion. Anthropic is offering common equity, which does not carry the same protections as the preferred equity OpenAI is offering.

OpenAI’s preferred equity gives investors priority returns and limits their downside risk. Anthropic’s common equity does not come with those guarantees.

The Information first reported last week that Anthropic had been talking to Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman. None of the companies involved in either deal have confirmed final agreements.

The Race to Go Public

Both OpenAI and Anthropic are pushing to sign deals with private equity because those firms control large numbers of enterprise companies and shape how those businesses spend on software and AI.

The urgency is also driven by IPO timelines. Both companies are reportedly aiming to go public as soon as this year.

In the enterprise AI market, Anthropic is widely seen as ahead of OpenAI in terms of corporate adoption. OpenAI is using the joint venture structure, in part, to close that gap.

No final agreements have been reached in either set of talks, and all parties say the details are still subject to change.

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