AI Daily: OpenAI closes $122B funding round

Catch up on the top artificial intelligence news and commentary by Wall Street analysts on publicly traded companies in the space with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.

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FUNDING ROUND: OpenAI said in a statement, “we closed our latest funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post money valuation of $852B. OpenAI is becoming the core infrastructure for AI, making it possible for people around the world and businesses, big and small, to just build things. The broad consumer reach of ChatGPT creates a powerful distribution channel into the workplace, where demand is rapidly shifting from basic model access to intelligent systems that reshape how businesses operate. OpenAI was the fastest technology platform to reach 10 million users, the fastest to 100 million users, and soon the fastest to 1 billion weekly active users. Within a year of launching ChatGPT, we reached $1B in revenue. By the end of 2024 we were generating $1B per quarter. We are now generating $2B in revenue per month. At this stage, we are growing revenue four times faster than the companies who defined the Internet and mobile eras, including Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta (META)… The round was anchored by our strategic partners Amazon (AMZN), NVIDIA (NVDA), and SoftBank (SFTBY), with continued participation from our long-term partner, Microsoft (MSFT). SoftBank co-led the round alongside a16z, D. E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.” OpenAI added: “AI is driving productivity gains, accelerating scientific discovery, and expanding what people and organizations can build. This funding gives us the resources to continue to lead at the scale this moment demands.”

$1B INVESTMENT: Microsoft (MSFT) announced a major expansion of its partnership with Thailand following a meeting in Bangkok between Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. From 2026 to 2028, Microsoft plans to invest more than $1B in cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations across Thailand. The investment is the centerpiece of Microsoft’s Advancing National Growth, Prosperity, and Global Competitiveness with AI initiative, supporting trusted and inclusive access to cloud and AI technology while helping skill millions of Thai citizens across every sector of the economy. “As the cloud and AI become central to economic growth and national competitiveness, countries need both access to world-class technology and the know-how to put it to work,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft Vice Chair and President. “Microsoft is proud to support Thailand’s vision for secure cloud and AI, combining trusted infrastructure, secure platforms, and skills so AI adoption translates into real competitiveness and job creation.”

LEADING AI ORCHESTRATION PLATFORM: Benchmark initiated coverage of Microsoft with a Buy rating and $450 price target. Microsoft is positioned as a leading AI orchestration platform across enterprise and consumer markets, supported by its broad portfolio of software, collaboration tools, and cloud services, the firm tells investors in a research note. The recent pullback from its October 2025 highs is viewed as a long-term buying opportunity, with AI-related capex concerns seen as shortsighted given strong demand visibility, contracted hardware capacity, and the company’s strategic positioning for the AI supercycle, Benchmark adds.

AI CHAT ADS: Amazon’s (AMZN) “sponsored prompts” for its Rufus AI assistant are yielding significantly lower traffic than traditional ads, but are more cost-effective, The Information’s Catherine Perloff reports.

BUY PALLADYNE AI: Northland initiated coverage of Palladyne AI (PDYN) with an Outperform rating and $10 price target. Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, can operate as a fleet or swarm, expanding surveillance and kinetic strike potential, notes the firm, which calls Palladyne AI “one of the few companies” to provide swarming software and AI. This creates “a large emerging opportunity,” Northland tells investors.