OpenAI in Talks for New Funding Round, Potentially Valuing Company at Over $100 Billion

OpenAI In Talks For New Funding Valuing ChatGPT Maker More Than $100B: Reports

OpenAI is reportedly negotiating a fresh round of funding that could value the ChatGPT maker at over $100 billion. Thrive Capital is expected to lead the investment, committing $1 billion to the round, according to Wall Street Journal, which first reported the development. It also reported that Microsoft, OpenAI's largest investor, is participating in the funding round. It comes after OpenAI's valuation skyrocketed earlier this year, reaching approximately $80 billion, up from $29 billion the previous year. The company's revenue is believed to have exceeded $2 billion on an annualized basis, driven by the rapid adoption of its AI-powered products as well as advancements in AI-generated imagery and video content. The news comes shortly after OpenAI revealed plans to launch a prototype search engine called SearchGPT. The tool, designed to deliver "fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources," is currently being tested by a select group of users. The company intends to eventually integrate SearchGPT into its widely used ChatGPT platform. The move could potentially challenge Google's dominance in the search engine market. Since the introduction of ChatGPT, there has been growing concern among Alphabet investors about the possibility of OpenAI capturing a share of the search market by offering innovative ways for users to find information online. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hinted at the company's ambitions in a recent post on social media platform X, saying, "We believe there is significant room for improvement in search, and we're exploring new possibilities to make it better than ever." Altman also said that the new tool aims to allow users to search in a more conversational and intuitive manner. Thrive Capital, led by Josh Kushner, is one of the most significant investors in OpenAI, having purchased employee stock last year in a transaction that valued the AI powerhouse at $86 billion. OpenAI's valuation has continued to climb, driven by rapid advancements in generative AI and the increasing belief that this technology will transform numerous sectors of the economy. The company's annualized revenue reached $2 billion earlier this year. However, the rapid growth of AI start-ups has sparked concerns about the sustainability of their business models. OpenAI is also facing mounting competition from other industry players, such as Anthropic, Google, and Elon Musk's recently launched xAI, which has secured $6 billion in funding to challenge ChatGPT's dominance.

OpenAI in talks to raise fresh funds at a valuation of more than $100bn

OpenAI is in talks to raise billions of dollars at a valuation of more than $100bn, as the ChatGPT maker looks to capitalise on its early lead in the booming artificial intelligence sector. The San Francisco-based company is talking to venture capital firms including Thrive Capital, which is set to invest $1bn and lead the round, as well as other investors, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Terms for the new financing have not been finalised, added the people, but the deal is expected to raise billions of dollars and value the company at more than $100bn, a significant step up from OpenAI's current $86bn valuation. According to one investor in the company, OpenAI stock has recently traded on the secondary market at a price that implies a valuation of more than $110bn. A valuation at that level in the new round "would make more sense but a process like this FOMO [fear of missing out] kicks in and it could be higher," he said. OpenAI last raised new capital in early 2023, shortly after the release of its flagship chatbot ChatGPT, when Microsoft committed $10bn to the company in a funding round that valued the start-up at roughly $30bn. It is not clear whether Microsoft will participate in the company's latest funding round. Josh Kushner's Thrive has become one of OpenAI's most prominent backers. The firm bought up employee stock last year in a deal that valued OpenAI at $86bn. OpenAI founder Sam Altman's most recent post on social media site X reads: "i have been fortunate to work with many great investors; there is no one i'd recommend more highly than josh." OpenAI and Thrive declined to comment. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI's valuation has rocketed higher thanks to rapid advances in generative AI, and growing expectations that the technology will reshape various parts of the economy. Nvidia, whose chips have propelled AI advances, announced on Wednesday that it had more than doubled its revenue over the past year, to $30bn for the three months through July. OpenAI's revenues have also surged, reaching $2bn on an annualised basis at the start of this year. But there are also growing concerns about how start-ups can generate a profit from AI models that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to train and run. OpenAI is also facing increasingly fierce competition from rivals including Anthropic, Google and Elon Musk's xAI, which recently raised $6bn in a bid to close the gap to ChatGPT. New investment would give OpenAI more firepower to build its long-awaited new model, GPT-5, and compete with rivals. The Wall Street Journal first reported OpenAI was in talks with investors to raise new money.

OpenAI reportedly in talks to close a new funding round at $100B+ valuation | TechCrunch

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, could be in talks to raise a massive tranche of cash. The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI may be close to closing a fundraising round led by Thrive Capital, a previous investor, that'd value the AI company at over $100 billion. That's substantially higher than OpenAI's previous $86 billion valuation, and by far the highest valuation of any AI startup to date. Microsoft is also expected to participate, according to the WSJ. It's unclear who else might; Khosla Ventures, Infosys and Y Combinator are among OpenAI's other existing backers. Whatever size the tranche ends up being -- Thrive will reportedly throw in around $1 billion for its part -- it'll be OpenAI's biggest outside infusion of capital since January 2023, when Microsoft invested nearly $10 billion. OpenAI desperately needs the money. While the company's annualized revenue eclipsed $3.4 billion early this year (according to the WSJ), OpenAI could be on track to lose nearly $5 billion by 2025. That's per The Information, which estimates that the startup has burned through $8.5 billion on AI training and staffing.

OpenAI in talks to secure new funding at $100B+ valuation By Investing.com

OpenAI, the company behind the widely-used ChatGPT, is reportedly in the midst of negotiations to secure a multi-billion dollar investment that could propel its valuation to over $100 billion. The anticipated funding round is expected to be spearheaded by Thrive Capital with a commitment of around $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Moreover, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), a current investor in OpenAI, is slated to contribute to the funding efforts. The involvement of Microsoft further shows the tech giant's ongoing support and partnership with OpenAI, which has been instrumental in advancing AI technologies. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence firm has seen a sharp increase in its valuation, largely attributed to the success of ChatGPT, a chatbot known for generating conversational responses that mimic human interaction. The potential funding round follows the trend of significant financial interest in AI technology. Thrive Capital's substantial investment highlights the venture capital firm's confidence in OpenAI's growth prospects. While the details of the funding round are still under wraps, the move is indicative of the burgeoning interest and investment in artificial intelligence startups. OpenAI's increased valuation reflects the industry's recognition of ChatGPT's impact and the broader potential of AI applications.

OpenAI thinks it's worth more than $100 billion

The artificial intelligence startup behind popular chatbot ChatGPT is in talks with several investors to raise billions of dollars in new funding, which would value the company at more than $100 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter and company documents. Venture-capital firm Thrive Capital is leading the funding round with a roughly $1 billion investment, according to the Journal. Microsoft will also reportedly be contributing. Over the past two years, OpenAI has become the most influential generative AI company on the market. Earlier this year, OpenAI chief Sam Altman said ChatGPT hit 100 million weekly users. It has spurred the genAI and chatbot boom with the success of ChatGPT, lighting the fire under Google and Microsoft's seats to play catch up in what's now a sprint to the top. And OpenAI's influence -- and value -- is continuing to snowball. A deal allowing employees to sell stakes in the company valued OpenAI at $86 billion late last year, nearly triple what it was earlier in the year. At its current valuation, it holds the spot of the third-most valuable private company in the world, behind only TikTok parent ByteDance and Elon Musk's SpaceX, according to market research firm CB Insights. This latest funding round would be its single biggest raise since it received $10 billion in backing from Microsoft back in January 2023. Ultimately, OpenAI is hoping to reach what's known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI -- a futuristic view of machines that can pretty much do anything just as well as humans. Last month, the company shared a five-level system it developed to track its progress with employees, with a spokesperson reportedly telling Bloomberg it was already at level two, "Reasoners." That's where AI that can perform basic problem-solving and is on the level of a human with a doctorate degree but no access to tools. Critics, including former OpenAI employees, have warned, however, that the company and its ambitions pose "serious risks." In May, OpenAI disbanded its "Superalignment" team, which was responsible for working on the problem of AI's existential dangers. The company said the team's work would be absorbed by other research efforts across OpenAI.

OpenAI may be valued at more than $100B in new funding round - WSJ

OpenAI is in discussions to raise several billion dollars in a new funding round that may value the startup at more than $100 billion. Venture capital firm Thrive Capital is leading the round and is expected to invest about $1 billion, according to a WSJ report on Wednesday, which cited people familiar with the matter. Microsoft (MSFT) is also expected to be part of founding round. OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, was valued at $86 billion last year when employees sold shares. One or more current OpenAI stockholders have been negotiating to sell their shares at a price that would value the company at $103 billion, according to the WSJ report, which cited a document viewed by the publication. Any new investors would likely value OpenAI around that price or higher. The latest fundraising round would be the biggest since a round in January of 2023 when Microsoft (MSFT) reportedly invested $10 billion in OpenAi. More on Microsoft Microsoft: Rule Of 40 Points To Buy Microsoft: This Is The Time To Buy Microsoft: Why Now Is A Good Time To Invest In The Shares OpenAI works to release next-level AI product this fall: report Microsoft inks clean energy deals to meet its climate goals

OpenAI in talks to raise funding that would value it at more than $100 billion

OpenAI is in talks to raise a funding round that would value the artificial intelligence startup at more than $100 billion, CNBC has learned. Thrive Capital is leading the round and will invest $1 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because the details are confidential. Earlier this year, OpenAI was valued at a reported $80 billion from $29 billion the prior year. Annualized revenue reportedly surpassed $2 billion earlier this year. Growth took off in late 2022 after the company launched its ChatGPT chatbot and has continued as it's rolled out products for businesses and expanded into AI-generated photos and videos. The company said it eventually plans to integrate the tool, which is currently being tested with a small group of users, into its ChatGPT chatbot. The rollout could have implications for Google and its dominant search engine. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could take market share from Google in search by giving consumers new ways to seek information online. With this prototype, OpenAI is testing the waters for doing just that, promising users the chance to "search in a more natural, intuitive way" and ask follow-up questions "just like you would in a conversation." "We think there is room to make search much better than it is today," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote Thursday in a post on X.

OpenAI may soon be valued at $100bn after funding talks

Earlier this month, co-founder John Schulman announced his departure from the AI start-up to join rival Anthropic. ChatGPT creator OpenAI is in talks to raise a fresh round of funding that it expected to value the AI start-up at more than $100bn. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the funding round will be led by New York-based venture capital firm Thrive Capital. People familiar with the matter told the outlet that the firm will invest around $1bn in OpenAI. The company is currently valued at $86bn and counts among its backers Microsoft, Khosla Ventures Infosys and Silicon Valley VC heavyweight Y Combinator. Microsoft is also reportedly backed the latest round first revealed yesterday (28 August). Microsoft has been the biggest backer of OpenAI since ChatGPT took the world by storm in 2022. Last year, the company committed billions in investment to the AI start-up and integrated many of its tools with OpenAI models, including Bing and Copilot. Last month, Microsoft decided to give up its observer seat on the board of OpenAI saying it has seen "significant progress" in the AI start-up and no longer feels it is necessary to hold one. This is in the context of ongoing antitrust scrutiny of its ties with OpenAI in the US. Established in 2015 by a star-studded founding team that includes CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, OpenAI kicked off the global race to build advanced generative AI models when it released ChatGPT to the public in November 2022. Since then, the start-up has grown exponentially and announced a spate of AI products. But it has also seen an exodus of sorts from its leadership in recent months. Earlier this month, co-founder John Schulman announced his departure from the AI start-up to join rival Anthropic. In a note to colleagues, the research scientist said he wanted to focus on AI alignment - the study of how to build safe AI systems and ensure they do what they're supposed to do - and start a new chapter of his career with more technical work. In May, former OpenAI executive Jan Leike also left the company to join Anthropic in a similar role. Leike was one of the leaders of OpenAI's superalignment team, which was dissolved after Leike and former OpenAI chief scientist and co-founder Ilya Sutskever resigned from the company earlier that month. Leike spoke out against the company shortly after resigning, claiming he disagreed with OpenAI's leadership about the company's core priorities "for some time" and that these issues had reached a "breaking point". Andrej Karpathy, another co-founder of OpenAI, left the company in February to work on personal projects. Last month, he revealed a new company called Eureka Labs that will enable students to study a wide variety of subjects through its AI platform. Find out how emerging tech trends are transforming tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.

OpenAI could reportedly raise billions of dollars at $100B+ valuation - SiliconANGLE

OpenAI could reportedly raise billions of dollars at $100B+ valuation OpenAI is negotiating a new funding round that could boost its valuation to over $100 billion, multiple publications reported today. The Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying that the ChatGPT developer is seeking to raise several billion dollars. Thrive Capital is expected to lead the raise with a $1 billion contribution. Microsoft Corp., which has provided OpenAI with $13 billion worth of cloud infrastructure and funding to date, is expected to participate as well. OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar confirmed the fundraising effort in an internal memo, Bloomberg reported. The executive added that the company plans to hold a tender offer later this year. That's a transaction in which a startup's employees can sell some of their stock. OpenAI reportedly received a $80 billion valuation in a February tender offer that included Thrive Capital. The valuation bump the company is expected to receive in its upcoming funding round hints at investor optimism about its growth prospects. OpenAI's annualized recurring revenue reportedly topped $2 billion in February, less than six months after reaching the $1 billion mark. Friar told employees that some of the proceeds from the new round will be used to buy additional compute capacity. In March, rumors emerged that OpenAI and Microsoft are teaming up to assemble an artificial intelligence supercomputer powered by millions of processors. Given that high-end data center graphics cards sell for more than $30,000 apiece, the system's cost could run into the billions of dollars. Sources told The Information that the companies have codenamed the supercomputer Stargate and expect to bring it online in 2028 at the earliest. A new funding round could also ease OpenAI's efforts to launch the long-rumored successor to its flagship GPT-4o model. The company recently disclosed that it has already started training the new model, which is often referred to as GPT-5. Sources told Reuters in July that OpenAI is developing a technology called Strawberry to enhance its LLMs' reasoning capabilities. It's believed the technology could make neural networks better at tasks such as carrying out online research, solving complicated math problems and generating software code. It's unclear which, if any, of Strawberry's features will find their way into GPT-5. New model development is not the only task that a fresh capital infusion could simplify for OpenAI. The company recently started testing an internally-developed search engine, SearchGPT, that answers user queries with natural language responses. A multibillion-dollar investment would make it easier for the company to finance new market expansion initiatives in tandem with its costly AI development projects.

OpenAI in talks for funding round valuing it above $100 billion

Venture-capital firm Thrive Capital is leading the round and will invest about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Microsoft is also expected to put in money. The new funding round would be the biggest infusion of outside capital into OpenAI since Microsoft invested around $10 billion in January 2023. Since then, an arms race has developed in Silicon Valley to build the most advanced artificial-intelligence systems in an effort to dominate an industry many say will revolutionize the economy. OpenAI was last valued at $86 billion late last year, when employees sold existing shares. Thrive, a New York-based firm founded 15 years ago by Josh Kushner, already has a close relationship with OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman. It has put several hundred million dollars into the startup since last year. It couldn't be determined what other investors are participating in the new funding round. Competition in the AI space is fierce. Google offers its own AI product and has, together with Amazon, put $6 billion into Anthropic, a competitor started by former OpenAI executives. Meta Platforms has developed its own AI model that it is releasing free of charge and is integrating into its apps, including Facebook and Instagram. ChatGPT remains the market leader and has hundreds of millions of monthly users. Maintaining that position will require billions in spending by OpenAI to stay on the cutting edge of research and continue developing products that can understand natural language commands and generate sophisticated text, images and video. In recent weeks, one or more current OpenAI stockholders have been negotiating to sell their shares at a price that would value the company at $103 billion, according to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Any new investors would likely value OpenAI around that price or higher, not including the additional money raised. Raising prodigious amounts of capital is critical for Altman's goal to create artificial general intelligence -- which his company defines as autonomous systems that can outperform humans at most economically viable tasks. Such technological leaps require huge volumes of data processed in warehouses of supercomputers outfitted with expensive, power-hungry chips. OpenAI spent more than $100 million to build GPT-4, its most powerful AI model to date. It is currently working on its next model, which is expected to cost more. Backers are betting AI will upend the way people and companies work and create. For now, though, AI is a speculative business that isn't generating nearly as much revenue as investors and tech companies are putting into it. Earlier this year, OpenAI's revenue was $3.4 billion on an annualized basis, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Information earlier reported on OpenAI's revenue. Investors don't technically own equity in OpenAI, which is a nonprofit. They instead put money in a for-profit subsidiary and are entitled to a share of that entity's profits. Microsoft currently has a 49% share of OpenAI's profit after pumping $13 billion into the startup since 2019. Some of that money has flowed back to Microsoft, as OpenAI has hosted its technology on the tech giant's Azure cloud platform. The fact that Microsoft is likely to continue investing in OpenAI indicates their relationship remains important to the two companies, even as both are increasingly competing with each other and forming new partnerships. Microsoft in July relinquished its position as a nonvoting member on OpenAI's board, partly as a gesture to regulators scrutinizing their relationship. It also recently added OpenAI to its list of competitors in AI and search in a regulatory filing. Earlier this year, Microsoft hired the CEO and much of the team at Inflection AI, an OpenAI rival, to develop AI tools for consumers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been spreading his AI bets to a broad collection of startups. OpenAI, meanwhile, is working with Apple to power new AI features for the next generation of iPhones.

OpenAI in talks to raise funding at over $100 billion valuation: Report

OpenAI, the startup behind the popular ChatGPT, is reportedly in discussions to raise billions of dollars in a new funding round that could see it valued at above $100 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The funding round is expected to be led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which is poised to invest approximately $1 billion, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. OpenAI to launch new AI product called 'Strawberry' in fall Tech giant and OpenAI backer Microsoft is also expected to put in money, it added. OpenAI, Microsoft and Thrive Capital did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. ChatGPT, a chatbot that can generate human-like responses based on user prompts, has driven AI's popularity and fueled a meteoric rise in the valuation of the San Francisco-based firm. Read Comments

OpenAI in Talks for Deal That Would Value Company at $100 Billion

OpenAI is in talks to complete a deal that would value the company at $100 billion or more, which would be about a $20 billion increase from its valuation eight months ago, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The funding round would be led by Thrive Capital, which would put about $1 billion into the San Francisco company, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The deal could also include funding from Microsoft. OpenAI launched the A.I. boom in late 2022 with the release of the online chatbot ChatGPT, sparking a surge in funding for A.I. companies. But enthusiasm among investors has cooled in recent months, as several high-profile start-ups were essentially folded into tech giants like Google and Amazon. Still, OpenAI remains a leader in the race to artificial intelligence. It is among a handful of companies with a blend of experienced researchers and large amounts of money that can work with resource intensive A.I. systems. Since it released ChatGPT, OpenAI has built increasingly powerful technologies, including versions of its chatbot that can generate images and human-like speech. In early 2023, Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the company to $13 billion. A year later, Thrive led a deal that valued the company more than $80 billion. With that deal, OpenAI did not issue new shares. It allowed the company's employees to sell their existing shares. The new investment, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal, would allow other existing shareholders to sell their shares. OpenAI declined to comment. (The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December for copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems.) The new investment talks come after a year of rapid growth and turmoil for the San Francisco start-up. Last November, four OpenAI board members fired Sam Altman, the company's chief executive, and said they no longer trusted him to lead the creation of safe A.I. technology. Mr. Altman was reinstated five days later. Since then, the board has expanded along with the company's work force.

OpenAI nears funding round at over $100 bn valuation led by Thrive Capital

OpenAI has been in early discussions to raise funding at a valuation at or above $100 billion since at least December, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News late last year. The financing would create one of the world's most valuable venture-backed startups, underscoring growing demand for generative artificial intelligence software after OpenAI captured public interest with its easy-to-use chatbot, ChatGPT. The success of OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft Corp., also kicked off an arms race among larger tech firms, which are integrating AI technology across their products and funding other promising startups.

OpenAI Eyes $100B Valuation With New Funding: Report

The round is expected to draw participants like Thrive Capital and Microsoft. Artificial Intelligence (AI) firm OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise capital in new funding that could see its valuation soar above $100 billion. The new funding is expected to draw participants from top companies and venture capital firms. Crypto users assess the potential impact on AI coins amid the market downturn. OpenAI is reportedly seeking new funding which could take its valuation up to $100 billion. A new Wall Street Journal report says the form could raise approximately billions citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, VC firm Thrive Capital is expected to lead the round drawing participants from larger firms like tech giant Microsoft. The company behind ChatGPT was valued at $86 billion last year as its staff sold shares. This widespread adoption and AI frenzy saw growth as OpenAI's valuation stood at $29 billion the previous year with present revenues above $2 billion. With Thrive Capital expected to bring in $1 billion, alongside major firms, this is expected to be the largest funding round since news of Microsoft's $10 billion investment in January 2023. Per the report, some shareholders are negotiating to sell their stake in the company at a price that could see its valuation top $103 billion. The company's growth continues to thrill several users as it adds new upgrades to its products. Recently, OpenAI announced a major update that lets developers customize GPT-40 with specific data sets. The upgrade will enhance the performance of the model while reducing costs. The buzz around AI companies has sparked movements in the crypto space, especially with the activities of top firms. In Q1 2024, AI coins soared following the wider market upturn after the approval of spot Bitcoin ETF by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Despite the recent correction, most users have pointed to possible highs on the back of positive developers. AI chip manufacturer, Nvidia announced better-than-expected Q2 earnings leading to wider speculations.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI looks to raise funding as financial these 'worries and needs' go up - Times of India

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is in talks to raise a new funding round that would value the company at over $100 billion, despite facing significant financial hurdles. The Wall Street Journal reports that Thrive Capital is set to lead the round with a $1 billion investment. This fundraising effort comes as OpenAI grapples with substantial financial needs.According to The Information, the company is projected to lose up to $5 billion in 2024 and could exhaust its cash reserves within a year. OpenAI's annual spending on AI training and inference is expected to reach $7 billion, far outpacing its estimated revenue of $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion. The Wall Street Journal notes that OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, informed employees about the ongoing fundraising efforts in a memo, citing the need to support computing power and other operating expenses. Friar also mentioned plans for a tender event later this year, allowing employees to sell some of their shares. The Information reports that OpenAI's rapid growth has contributed to its financial strain. The company's workforce has expanded to about 1,500 employees, potentially costing $1.5 billion this year - triple the initial projections. Additionally, OpenAI is spending nearly $4 billion on Microsoft's servers for ChatGPT inference workloads and up to $3 billion for training new AI models. The Information reports that the company has the equivalent of 350,000 servers containing Nvidia A100 chips for inference, with about 290,000 dedicated to ChatGPT. This hardware is reportedly running at near-full capacity. The potential new funding round, if successful, would make OpenAI one of the world's most valuable venture-backed startups. It would follow seven previous funding rounds that have raised over $11 billion, with the company's last reported valuation at $80 billion. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.

Report: OpenAI Seeks to Raise 'Several Billion Dollars'

OpenAI reportedly aims to raise "several billion dollars" in a funding round that would value at above $100 billion. The round is being led by Thrive Capital and will include participation by Microsoft, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (Aug. 28), citing unnamed sources. OpenAI did not immediately reply to PYMNTS' request for comment. When employees sold shares in late 2023, OpenAI was valued at $86 billion, according to the report. The latest funding round comes at a time when there is fierce competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, but OpenAI's ChatGPT remains the market leader with hundreds of millions of monthly users, the report said. Staying on the cutting edge of AI will require billions of dollars in spending, per the report. OpenAI spent more than $100 million to build its GPT-4 AI model and is expected to spend more on the one it is developing now. It was reported Tuesday (Aug. 27) that OpenAI aims to release its next-level AI product, called "Strawberry," in the fall and that the product will be able to solve problems and tasks that are beyond the capabilities of current AI models. Strawberry reportedly will be able to solve math problems it has never encountered; perform high-level tasks like developing market strategies and solving complex word puzzles; and perform "deep research." It was reported in July that major investments in AI firms largely fueled American venture funding that reached its highest quarterly total in two years. During the second quarter, venture capital investments totaled $55.6 billion, up 47% from the $37.8 billion startups in the U.S. took in during the first quarter. Among the investments in AI firms that contributed to this growth were the $6 billion raised by Elon Musk's xAI and $1.1 billion raised by CoreWeave. On Aug. 5, Groq raised $640 million in a Series D funding round to scale the capacity of its vertically integrated AI inference platform. The company said it will also use the new funding to add talent, accelerate the development of the next generation of language processing units (LPUs), and add new models and features to GroqCloud.

OpenAI On Cusp Of Raising Billions In New Venture Capital Round, Valuation Spikes To $100B: Report - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Venture capital firm Thrive Capital is leading a fundraising effort for OpenAI. OpenAI, the startup behind the artificial intelligence portal known as ChatGPT, is about to get a massive cash infusion that will pump its valuation beyond $100 billion. What Happened: Venture capital firm Thrive Capital is leading a fundraising effort and will invest at least $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Microsoft Corp MSFT, an original OpenAI investor, is also expected to participate in the round. It remains to be seen what other backers, if any, are joining the campaign. See Also: Nvidia Q2 Earnings, Guidance Top Street View As AI Fuels Record Data Center Revenue: Gross Margin Falls Quarter-Over-Quarter, Stock Drops In 2023, OpenAI was valued at $86 billion. Why It Matters: OpenAI's ChatGPT product boasts hundreds of millions of monthly users. While technically a nonprofit, OpenAI charges its users depending on which GPT tier they use. The GPT-3.5 and the GPT-4o models are free with a registered account. The Plus version, which grants access to GPT-4, costs $20 per month. The company's offerings have helped it maintain an edge over big-name rivals, including Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL. The Google parent company dumped a $6-billion cash load into Anthropic, an Amazon.com Inc AMZN-backed competitor launched by former OpenAI executives. Meta Platforms Inc META is also hustling to build its own AI model. The company will likely integrate the tech into Facebook and Instagram. OpenAI, meanwhile, is working with Apple Inc AAPL to power new AI features for the next generation of iPhones. What's Next: Expect the company to continue wrestling with lawsuits. Last month, the Center for Investigative Reporting sued the AI innovator and Microsoft, citing unauthorized use of its content. Earlier this week, OpenAI insisted that it makes fair use of copyrighted content to teach its language models to create original material. Now Read: CrowdStrike Q2 Earnings: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, ARR Up 32% 'Even More Customer-Obsessed' Company Following IT Outage In July Photo: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs