OpenAI has completed a deal to raise over $6.5 billion in new funding, giving the artificial intelligence company a more than $150 billion valuation, and bolstering its efforts to build the world’s leading generative AI technology.
The deal is one of the largest-ever private investments, and makes OpenAI one of the three largest venture-backed startups, alongside Elon Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The size of the investment underscores the tech industry’s belief in the power of AI, and its appetite for the extremely costly research powering its advancement. The funding round was led by Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm headed up by Josh Kushner, Bloomberg previously reported, along with other global investors. The massive funding round follows a turbulent year for OpenAI. Last November, the company’s board fired and then quickly rehired its Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman. In the following months, the company has remade its board, hired hundreds of new employees and lost several key leaders, including Sutskever and Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati.
