OpenAI Offers 17.5% Guaranteed Return to Private Equity Funds

OpenAI is now offering private equity funds a minimum guaranteed annual return of 17.5% as a means to attract investments in a new joint venture focused on AI for the enterprise market.

According to an exclusive report by Reuters published on Monday, March 23, Sam Altman's company is in advanced talks with names like TPG, Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield. The goal is to form a partnership that distributes OpenAI's AI solutions to the hundreds of companies within these funds' portfolios.

The proposal not only includes the guaranteed return, which is well above what is typical in preferred equity instruments, but also early access to AI models that have not yet been publicly released. The joint venture has a pre-money valuation estimated at around $10 billion, with private funds committing approximately $4 billion in total.

In practice, this strategy helps OpenAI reduce the cost and time of AI deployment in companies. Instead of selling case by case, the company gains immediate scale by entering the entire portfolios controlled by major private equity managers.

This move comes amid a direct competition with Anthropic. While the rival offers common equity participation without a guaranteed return, OpenAI decided to sweeten the deal to get ahead in the corporate market race.

OpenAI's annualized revenue in the enterprise segment was already strong, but the agreement could represent a significant leap in large-scale adoption. TPG is expected to act as anchor investor, with Advent, Bain, and Brookfield as founding participants.

Discussions are still ongoing, but sources close indicate that the closure could occur in the coming weeks. If confirmed, the move is expected to significantly accelerate the integration of AI tools in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and industry.