$6.6 billion: OpenAI closes largest financing round ever
Never before has a private tech company raised as much venture capital in a financing round as this one: OpenAI has just confirmed what the rumor mill has been saying for the past few weeks. The ChatGPT maker has received new financing of $6.6 billion with a valuation of $157 billion. The valuation is about 42 times the reported sales.
This makes OpenAI one of the most valuable private companies in the world, with only Bytedance (TikTok) and SpaceX being valued higher. The new valuation of $157 billion also means that it has grown by more than $70 billion within nine months.
“We are making progress on our mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Every week, over 250 million people around the world use ChatGPT to enhance their work, creativity and learning. Across industries, companies are improving their productivity and operations, and developers are using our platform to build a new generation of applications. And we’re just getting started,” the company said in a press release.
The money comes from lead investor Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, Tiger Global and MGX – contrary to rumors, Apple ultimately did not participate in the financing round. “With the new funds, we can further expand our leadership position in AI research, increase computing capacity and continue to develop tools that help people solve difficult problems,” it continues. “Our goal is to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource.”
$1.3 billion of the round is expected to come from Thrive Capital. The investment firm was founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump and his senior advisor from 2017 to 2021.
According to the Financial Times, investors were also asked not to invest or to stop investing in competitors such as Anthropic or Elon Musk’s xAI. Apparently, they are trying to maintain their lead by any means possible. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAi employees, is also currently trying to raise funding, with a valuation of 30 to 40 billion dollars.
Founder Exodus and Increasingly Dangerous AI Models
The “USA and allied governments” are also thanked as important partners – clearly an indication that AI has long since become a political issue and is seen as an advantage of the Western world over competing power blocs.
OpenAI has recently lost important leadership figures, including Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Mira Murati leaving the company. OpenAI previously released its latest, most powerful AI model, “OpenAI o1”, which was given a medium risk rating because, among other things, it could help experts build bioweapons.
In terms of sales, things should go well. According to rumors, the company will already have sales of around $3.7 billion in 2024, but this will probably be offset by a loss of a whopping $5 billion. This also makes it clear that the ChatGPT maker still needs money to drive its development forward. The stated goal is to create AGI – an artificial intelligence that is equal to or even superior to humans.
