OpenAI is approaching private equity firms with an offer that includes a guaranteed minimum return of 17.5 percent on preferred equity stakes in its new enterprise joint venture.

The terms, first reported by Reuters, are more generous than rival Anthropic's structurally similar joint venture pitch, which includes no equivalent financial guarantee.

OpenAI’s proposal carries a pre-money valuation of roughly $10 billion, with sponsors collectively committing around $4 billion. TPG is the anchor investor, with Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield Asset Management joining as co-founding participants.

Anthropic has held discussions with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Permira for its own vehicle.

Both companies are targeting buyout firms as enterprise distribution channels via access to portfolio companies. A multi-sponsor partnership model allows the providers to sign up hundreds of companies at once and bypasses typical deal-by-deal enterprise sales cycles.

The hope is that there is some level of enduring product stickiness once one provider's models are customized and embedded into workflows.

OpenAI's terms also include additional sweeteners beyond the headline return: seniority over other joint venture partners, downside protection, and early access to models not yet in public release. The venture expects to generate revenue from implementation services, revenue-sharing on deployed products, and co-ownership of newly created tools.

Several additional firms are in discussions for smaller stakes without board seats or lead roles.

But not every firm is biting. Thoma Bravo, after internal discussions led by managing partner Orlando Bravo, declined to participate in either venture.

Bravo questioned the long-term profit profile of both structures, noting that many Thoma Bravo portfolio companies are already deploying AI tools without the intermediation of a formal joint venture.

At least one other firm reached the same conclusion independently, says Reuters.

The guaranteed return has also raised eyebrows and fuelled concerns over OpenAI's financial health.

The company's annualized revenue crossed $20 billion in 2025, a 233 percent year-over-year increase, but internal projections show $14 billion in losses in 2026 alone, with profitability not expected until 2029.

Making matters worse is OpenAI's relative stagnation.

Anthropic's enterprise market share grew from 18 percent to 29 percent in 2025, with eight of the Fortune 10 counted as customers, according to Menlo Ventures data. The company raised a $30 billion Series G at a $380 billion valuation in February 2026 and has lifted its internal 2026 revenue target to as much as $18 billion. Where OpenAI is paying for enterprise access, Anthropic's pitch rests on a product track record already in place.

That's led to internal reorganization at OpenAI and plans to shed non-core activities to refocus on the enterprise market.

Starting its consolidation push, the firm announced this week it is shutting down its Sora video generation product and backing out of a related $1 billion video deal with Disney.

• Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) is in talks to acquire Puig Brands, a Spanish luxury beauty and fragrance group with brands including Jean Paul Gaultier and Rabanne, in a deal that could value the combined entity at around $40 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) and Corebridge Financial (NYSE: CRBG) agreed to merge in a deal valuing the combined retirement, life insurance, and asset management company at around $22 billion.

• Brookfield and La Caisse agreed to acquire Boralex (TSX: BLX), a Canadian renewable energy company, in a take-private transaction valued at around $9.7 billion.

• Brookfield Asset Management and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec agreed to acquire Boralex (TSX: BLX), a Canadian renewable energy developer, for C$9 billion.

• Victory Capital (Nasdaq: VCTR) withdrew its roughly $8.6 billion proposal to acquire Janus Henderson Group (NYSE: JHG), an asset manager, after Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst raised their competing offer to $52 per share.

• KKR, Ardian, GIP, and Vauban Infra Fibre are among the infrastructure investors bidding for Patrick Drahi's control stake in XpFibre, a French fiber-optic network operator, with bids coming in between €6 billion and €8 billion, per the Financial Times.

• Merck (NYSE: MRK) agreed to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage oncology company developing an oral treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, for $6.7 billion.

• RAC, a UK roadside assistance provider backed by CVC Capital Partners, Silver Lake, and GIC, has kicked off investor meetings for a London IPO that could value the business at around £5 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC agreed to acquire a majority stake in Verdence Capital Advisors, a Hunt Valley, Maryland-based RIA with $4.6 billion in assets under management, from Emigrant Partners.

• Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, Platinum Equity, KPS Capital Partners, Clearlake Capital, and a joint bid from Advent International and CVC Capital Partners have advanced to the next round of bidding for ContiTech, the industrial unit of Continental AG, which could be valued at more than €4 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Apollo agreed to acquire Nippon Sheet Glass Company, a manufacturer of architectural, automotive, and solar glass, for around $3.7 billion.

• GI Partners is exploring the sale of American Residential Services, an HVAC and plumbing services provider, which could be valued at more than $3.5 billion, per Reuters.

• Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) agreed to acquire Ouro Medicines, a clinical-stage biotech developing T-cell engager therapies for autoimmune diseases, for up to $2.2 billion.

• Monarch Collective, a women's sports-focused investment fund, acquired a minority stake in the Cleveland WNBA expansion franchise, a Dan Gilbert-majority-owned team set to launch in 2028.

• Arxis, an Arcline Investment Management-backed defense electronics manufacturer, filed for a Nasdaq IPO (ticker: ARXS) that could raise around $400 million.

• KKR agreed to acquire Nothing Bundt Cakes, a Dallas-based bakery chain, for over $2 billion from Roark Capital, per the WSJ.

• Clearlake Capital Group agreed to acquire Qualus, a power and electric grid services platform, for around $1.7 billion from New Mountain Capital.

• VINCI Highways agreed to acquire Safeway Concessions, a portfolio of nine Indian toll highway concessions, from Macquarie Asset Management for around $1.6 billion.

• Primary Wave Music agreed to acquire Kobalt, an independent music publishing and technology platform, for more than $1.5 billion from Francisco Partners.

• TPG's Rise Fund and Allianz X led a $350 million investment in Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a telematics and AI platform for road safety, with participation from existing backer State Farm.

• LSI Industries (Nasdaq: LYTS) acquired Royston Group, a provider of identity and equipment solutions for retail environments, from Industrial Opportunity Partners for $325 million.

• AEVEX Aerospace, a Madison Dearborn Partners-backed defense technology contractor, filed for a NYSE IPO that could raise around $200 million.

• Arlington Capital Partners agreed to acquire Eptec Defence, an Australian naval defense vessel preservation and remediation services provider, for around A$150 million from Next Capital and The Silverfern Group.

• Investissement Québec invested C$125 million for a minority stake in Sherweb, a Québec-based cloud marketplace distributor for IT providers.

• Etna Capital acquired CodeRoad, a digital engineering and software development firm, from Peak Rock Capital.

• GIC acquired a minority stake in Envu, an environmental science solutions provider, from Cinven, which will retain majority ownership.

• AEA Elevate invested in Trinamix, a San Jose-based provider of Oracle Cloud implementation, integration, and managed services.

• TowerBrook Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in ID UNLIMITED, a European premium textile personalisation and embellishment platform for sports clubs, leagues, and brands, from Dentressangle.

• Advent International agreed to acquire a majority stake in Salt & Stone, a premium body care and fragrance brand, from Humble Growth.

• Lone Star Funds acquired Alliance Ground International, a North American airport ground handling and cargo services provider, from Audax Private Equity and Greenbriar Equity Group.

• Chimney Rock Equity Partners acquired United Electronics Company, a Charleston, South Carolina-based electronics design and manufacturing company serving defense, aerospace, and industrial end markets, from Albion River.

• Southfield Capital acquired a majority stake in Metric Search, a New York-based specialist executive search firm, from BGF.

• Altor agreed to acquire a majority stake in Eltera Gruppen, a Norwegian electrical installation services provider, from Valedo Partners.

• Bow River Capital agreed to acquire Spur Capital Partners, a venture capital fund-of-funds focused on technology and life sciences.

• Goldner Hawn acquired Lone Star Environmental Companies, a Texas-based underground infrastructure services provider.

• Empowering People Group, backed by Limerston Capital, agreed to acquire Mentor, a UK employment law, HR, health and safety, and environmental management consultancy, from NatWest (LSE: NWG).

• Bansk Group agreed to acquire a majority stake in So Good So You, a Minneapolis-based functional wellness shot brand, from Prelude Growth Partners.

• Octopus Energy Group agreed to acquire a majority stake in Uplight, a Boulder, Colorado-based distributed energy resource software company.

• Carlyle AlpInvest led a single-asset continuation vehicle for TowerBrook Capital Partners portfolio company EisnerAmper, an accounting and business advisory firm.

• Accel-KKR acquired tamigo, a European workforce management software provider for retail and hospitality businesses, from Viking Growth.

• Rootstock Software, a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, acquired Ascent Solutions, a Minneapolis-based provider of Salesforce-native ERP and operational applications.

• Eureka Education, a French education company backed by Naxicap Partners, acquired Knovia Group, a UK provider of apprenticeships and commercial training, from Sovereign Capital Partners.

• Relation Insurance Services, backed by Aquiline Capital Partners, acquired Chinook Insurance Group, a Washington-based insurance and benefits consulting firm.

• Thompson Street Capital Partners invested in Karpel Computer Systems, a St. Louis-based provider of criminal case management software for prosecutor and public defender offices.

• The Amlon Group, a portfolio company of Heartwood Partners, acquired Lion Industrial Resources, a Channelview, Texas-based hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste management firm.

• Tandym Group, backed by Mill Rock Capital and ICG, acquired InteliNotion, a Princeton, New Jersey-based provider of structured content authoring and AI-enabled content management software for life sciences and regulated industries.

• Ares Management is planning to launch an auction for The Lockwood Group, a pharmaceutical consulting firm, per Axios Pro.

• Arlington Capital Partners is exploring the sale of Everest Clinical Research, a Toronto-based contract research organization, per Axios Pro.

• Hopper OS, backed by GPI Capital, acquired Efferent, a The Woodlands, Texas-based healthcare informatics company.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• GIC and Sequoia co-led a $200 million growth round in Harvey, a legal AI platform for law firms and in-house teams, at an $11 billion valuation, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Conviction Partners, Elad Gil, Evantic, and Kleiner Perkins.

• Vultr, a West Palm Beach-based cloud infrastructure platform, raised $333 million in growth financing at a $3.5 billion valuation, led by LuminArx Capital Management and AMD Ventures.

• Kandou AI, a Swiss fabless semiconductor company making connectivity chips and IP for data centers and AI systems, raised $225 million in Series A funding led by Maverick Silicon, with participation from SoftBank Group, Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, and Alchip Technologies.

• Cents, a New York-based software, hardware, and payments platform for the laundry industry, raised $140 million in Series C funding led by Sumeru Equity Partners, with participation from Camber Creek.

• Granola, a London-based AI meeting notetaking app, raised $125 million in Series C funding co-led by Index Ventures and Kleiner Perkins at a $1.5 billion valuation, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Spark Capital.

• Dash0, a New York-based OpenTelemetry-based observability platform, raised $110 million in Series B funding at a $1 billion valuation led by Balderton Capital, with participation from DTCP Growth, Accel, Cherry Ventures, DIG Ventures, July Fund, and T.Capital.

• Gimlet Labs, a San Francisco-based AI inference platform that distributes workloads across diverse hardware, raised $80 million in Series A funding led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Eclipse Ventures, Factory, Prosperity7, and Triatomic Capital.

• Rocketlane, a Chennai-based Professional Services Automation platform, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners, bringing total capital raised to $105 million.

• Doss, an inventory management platform that integrates with ERP systems, raised $55 million in Series B funding co-led by Madrona and Premji Invest, with participation from Greyhound Capital, Commerce Ventures, Intuit Ventures, Theory Ventures, General Catalyst, Contrary Capital, Mintaka, Pathlight VC, and 47th Street Partners.

• Normal Computing, a New York-based developer of electronic design automation software and thermodynamic computing chips, raised $50 million in strategic funding led by Samsung Catalyst Fund, with participation from Galvanize, ArcTern Ventures, Brevan Howard Macro Venture Fund, Celesta Capital, and Drive Capital.

• Above Security, an Israeli insider threat detection platform, raised $50 million in Series A funding co-led by Ballistic Ventures, Merlin Ventures, and Norwest, with participation from Jump Capital and QPV Ventures.

• Subbyx, an Italian subscription economy infrastructure platform, raised €30 million in Series A funding led by Systemiq Capital, with participation from Azimut and venture debt provided by Flashpoint.

• Notch, an Israeli AI platform for regulated industries such as insurance, finance, and telecom, raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Headline, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jibe Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and Phoenix Insurance.

• Origin, a London-based employee benefits management platform, raised $30 million in Series A+ funding led by Notion Capital, with participation from Felix Capital, Acadian Ventures, and additional growth financing from HSBC Innovation Banking UK.

• Deccan AI, a provider of post-training data generation and evaluation for AI models, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by A91 Partners, with participation from Susquehanna International Group and Prosus Ventures.

• EPIC Microsystems, a semiconductor company providing power delivery solutions for AI infrastructure, raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from Intel Capital, AICONIC Ventures, Cambium Capital, A&E Investments, Assam Ventures, and Nepenthe Capital.

• Onit Security, an Israeli AI-powered vulnerability remediation platform, raised $11 million in seed funding co-led by Hetz Ventures and Brightmind Partners.

• Littlebird, a San Francisco-based AI tool that captures and converts screen content into searchable text, raised $11 million in seed funding led by Lotus Studio.

Fintech

• Shepherd, a San Francisco-based commercial insurance platform for construction and infrastructure, raised $42 million in Series B funding led by Intact Private Capital, with participation from Spark Capital and Costanoa Ventures.

• Spade, a platform that enriches raw payment transaction data into structured merchant records for banks and fintechs, raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Flourish, Gradient, NAventures, and Y Combinator.

Consumer & Media

• Mirage, the AI video editing and marketing company behind the Captions app, raised $75 million in growth financing from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund.

Healthcare

• Qualified Health, an enterprise AI platform for health systems, raised $125 million in Series B funding led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from Transformation Capital, GreatPoint Ventures, Cathay Innovation, Menlo Ventures' Anthology Fund, SignalFire, Frist Cressey Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, and Healthier Capital.

• Gilgamesh Pharma, a clinical-stage biotech developing psychedelics-derived neuropsychiatric therapies, raised $60 million in Series A funding led by Satori Neuro, with participation from Prime Movers Lab.

• Stedi, a New York-based healthcare clearinghouse for processing insurance transactions between providers and payers, raised $50 million in Series C funding led by Addition, with participation from Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Union Square Ventures, First Round Capital, BoxGroup, and Bloomberg Beta.

• Adonis, a New York-based AI orchestration platform for revenue cycle management, raised $40 million in Series C funding led by Quadrille Capital, with participation from General Catalyst and Bling Capital.

• Amani Therapeutics, a NYC-based biotech developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by RTW Investments.

• JAAQ, a London-based behavioral health platform, raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Meridian Health Ventures, with participation from Fuel Ventures and Guinness Ventures.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Shield AI, a defense AI company developing autonomous software for military aircraft and drones, raised $2 billion in Series G funding co-led by Advent International and Blackstone at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation, with a portion of proceeds earmarked to fund the acquisition of Aechelon Technology, a high-fidelity simulation and synthetic reality software company being divested by Sagewind Capital.

• PDW, a Huntsville, Alabama-based maker of modular unmanned systems for defense and public safety, raised over $110 million in Series B funding led by Ondas, with participation from Hood River, Cedar Pine, Hanwha Asset Management's venture fund, and Booz Allen Hamilton.

• Sift, an El Segundo-based AI platform that helps engineers and AI systems interpret hardware sensor data for mission-critical machines, raised $42 million in Series B funding led by StepStone, with participation from GV, Riot Ventures, Fika Ventures, and CIV.

• PAVE Space, a Swiss developer of orbital transfer vehicles, raised $40 million in seed funding co-led by Visionaries Club and Creandum, with participation from Lombard Odier Investment Managers, Atlantic Labs, Sistafund, b2venture, ACE Investment Partners, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital, and Pareto & Motier Ventures.

• Lucid Bots, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based maker of autonomous exterior cleaning drones and robots, raised $20 million in Series B funding co-led by Cubit Capital and Idea Fund Partners, with participation from WaterStone Impact Fund and Front Porch Ventures.

• Miraterra, a Vancouver-based soil measurement and analytics platform, raised C$16 million in seed extension funding led by At One Ventures, with participation from Farm Credit Canada, S2G Investments, Sitka Foundation, and iSelect.

• Scalvy, a modular power electronics company serving AI data centers, energy storage, and electric mobility, raised $13.9 million in Series A funding co-led by a strategic investor and Silicon Badia, with participation from Azolla Ventures, Climate Capital, and Skyriver Ventures.

• Lead Edge Capital raised $3.5 billion for its seventh growth equity fund, focused on software, internet, and technology-enabled businesses.

• Kleiner Perkins raised $3.5 billion across two new funds: a $1 billion early-stage vehicle and $2.5 billion in growth funds.

• Forward Consumer Partners, a consumer-focused lower middle market investor, raised $500 million for its second fund.

• Pritzker Alternative Strategies, an Anthony Pritzker family-backed fund-of-funds focused on U.S. and European lower and middle-market private equity, raised $385 million for its debut fund.

• Futurepresent, a venture firm launched by former General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures partners, raised $300 million for its debut fund focused on AI platforms and infrastructure across the U.S. and Europe.

• Overmatch Ventures raised $250 million for its second fund focused on deep tech, defense, and space.

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