OpenAI has held early discussions with investors about a new funding round that could value it at more than $1.2 trillion on the heels of the release of its latest cutting-edge model, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The ChatGPT developer was valued at $852 billion in March after completing a $122 billion financing from investors including Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank. If completed, the new round would precede the company's highly anticipated initial public offering, now expected next year.

The startup is in a tight race for AI supremacy with rival Anthropic and has recently faced new competitive pressure from a crop of lower-cost Chinese open-weight models.

Since its earlier raise, the company said it has reached more than one billion active users and that more than 200 million businesses use its AI models. Growth of its AI coding tool, Codex, has also been strong, and the company recently released a new model, Astra, which it described as the world's most intelligent and aligned model.

OpenAI's revenue rose to $6.7 billion in the three months ended in June, up from $5.7 billion in the first quarter. Its operating margin fell, delaying the prospect of profitability ahead of an IPO.

In an interview with Fortune this month, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said the company wasn't likely to go public this year, citing concerns about AI safety.

"I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that," Altman told Fortune.

The Financial Times earlier reported on OpenAI's fundraising discussions.