IBL News | New York
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, said yesterday that it had completed a $6.6 billion fundraising, achieving a valuation of $157 billion (it was $80 billion nine months ago).
The VC firm Thrive Capital led the round, investing about $1.3 billion, with $750 million coming from its fund and $550 million from other investors through an instrument called a special purpose vehicle.
Thrive Capital also has the option to invest up to $1 billion more in OpenAI at the same $157 billion valuation through 2025, The New York Times reported. Other investors do not have that option.
Microsoft, Nvidia, the tech conglomerate SoftBank, and the United Arab Emirates investment firm MGX participated in the finance deal. However, Apple backed away and declined to invest.
The Financial Times reported that OpenAI asked investors to avoid backing rival startups, such as Anthropic and xAI, in an exclusive funding arrangement to keep its generative AI lead.
According to financial documents reviewed by The New York Times, the start-up expects about $3.7 billion in sales this year.
It is also expected to lose roughly $5 billion after paying for the high cost of building and running AI technologies like ChatGPT.
The company has about 1,700 employees after adding more than 1,000 in the last nine months.
OpenAI has also long discussed restructuring itself as a for-profit company. However, according to The New York Times, that is not expected until sometime next year.
[In the picture, OpenAI researchers.]
