SUMMARY
- $6.6 billion raised in new funding, boosting valuation to $157 billion.
- Investment led by Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
- Funds will focus on expanding AI research, compute capacity, and product development.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has secured $6.6 billion in a funding round, elevating its valuation to $157 billion. This capital will be used to bolster the firm’s leadership in AI research, expand compute capacity, and accelerate product development, according to the company’s blog post.
The investment round attracted significant backing from existing investors such as Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Microsoft, along with fresh participation from chipmaker giant NVIDIA. Thrive Capital reportedly pledged around $1.2 billion with an option to invest an additional $1 billion next year, contingent on OpenAI meeting specific revenue targets.
“We aim to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource,” OpenAI stated, expressing gratitude to its investors and emphasizing the goal of shaping an AI-powered ecosystem for the greater good.
OpenAI’s funding success comes alongside significant changes in its leadership. Notably, Mira Murati, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, has resigned after six and a half years. Other senior executives, including Bob McGrew, head of research, and Barret Zoph, vice president of research, have also left.
In a related development, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI co-founder, departed earlier this year to launch a new AI venture called Safe Superintelligence Inc (SSI), alongside Daniel Gross and Daniel Levy.
