Even OpenAI has started lowering its valuation. OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, originally planned to raise another $30 billion before its IPO, raising its valuation to $1.4 trillion. Now, its fundraising target has been cut to about $20 billion, and its valuation has dropped to $1.25 trillion, requiring one-third less funding. This round of funding was originally intended as the final "bridge" financing before its IPO, which has been postponed to 2027. The pressure comes from the US stock market. The Nasdaq 100 has fallen about 10% in three weeks since its all-time high on October 6th, and recently dropped another 4.5% in a single day. Intel fell 28.6% last night. With listed companies falling like this, companies not yet listed are also forced to change their tune. The valuation drop of just over 10% doesn't seem like much. The real pain comes from the $10 billion shortfall: a large portion of OpenAI's computing power purchases relies on external financing; less money means less computing power to buy. The most interesting competitor is its rival, Anthropic, the company behind Claude. It's expected to list on Nasdaq in November, with a rumored valuation of $1.5 trillion and a fundraising target of up to $100 billion, even higher than OpenAI's stated target. Two leading AI companies are vying for the same IPO window, one proactively lowering its valuation, while the other is raising it. Is ChatGPT admitting it's falling behind Claude?