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OpenAI Closes One Of The Largest VC Rounds Ever, Raises Valuation to $157bn
OpenAI largest VC round: OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has raised $6.6 billion from investors, which could value the company at $157 billion and cement its position as one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
OpenAI Closes Largest VC Round
The funding has attracted returning venture capital investors including Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, as well as OpenAI’s biggest corporate backer Microsoft, and new participation from Nvidia.
It has already seen the AI startup’s valuation soar to $157 billion — more than the current market caps of big-name companies like IBM, Verizon, and Qualcomm.
“We’re grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone. Also, we are grateful to them for making this OpenAI largest VC round,” the startup said in a statement.
OpenAI said the new funding will enable it to “double down” on research into frontier, or foundational AI systems and continue to build tools that “help people solve hard problems.”
Thrive Capital, which committed about $1.2 billion from a combination of its fund and a special purpose vehicle for smaller investors, negotiated the option to invest another $1 billion next year at the same valuation if the AI firm hits a revenue goal, sources added.
Recall that Apple, which was in talks to invest in OpenAI, did not end up joining the funding.
Also Read: Apple Pulls Out From OpenAI’s Potential Funding
OpenAI Largest VC Round Ramps Up The Company Beyond Expectation
However, OpenAI’s meteoric rise in terms of product popularity and valuation has captured the world’s imagination. According to Reuters, since the launch of ChatGPT, it has attracted 250 million weekly active users.
The OpenAI largest VC round has allowed the company’s valuation to also rise from $14 billion in 2021 to $157 billion, as it grew revenue from zero to $3.6 billion, far exceeding Altman’s projections at the time.
The company has told investors it is still actively pursuing artificial general intelligence (AGI), meaning developing AI systems that surpass human intelligence, as it ramps up commercialization and tries to be profitable.
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