ChatGPT Creator Raises Multi-Billion

OpenAI’s multibillion-dollar funding round is now complete, giving the artificial intelligence startup a valuation of USD 157 billion.

The $6.6 billion raise is one of the largest private investments to date and places OpenAI among the top three largest venture-backed startups. Bloomberg reportedciting unnamed people familiar with the matter. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and ByteDance, which owns TikTok, are the other two.

Thrive Capital, led by Joshua Kushner, led the funding round. Microsoft Technology Machines (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) backed the round, which included investors such as Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, SoftBank (SFTBY), and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL), which has a partnership with OpenAI for to integrate ChatGPT into its iPhone operating systemrecent dropped out of talks to attend in the funding round, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The new funding comes amid a wave of executive resignations and reports that OpenAI is spending more than he makes. The startup’s monthly revenue reached $300 million in August — up 1,700 percent from the start of 2023, the New York Times reported. The New York Times (NYT) added that OpenAI expects to end the year with annual sales of $3.7 billion, according to financial documents reviewed by its reporters. However, the startup also anticipates losing about $5 billion this year due to expenses such as running its AI models and paying employees, according to the analysis. Next year, OpenAI expects $11.6 billion in revenue.

It seems that OpenAI is also considering it restructuring its nonprofit status to attract investors, the Financial Times previously reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Because OpenAI considers a for-profit structure, CEO Sam Altman told employees that he not intending to get a “huge stake” in the company. In a meeting, both Altman and Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s CFO, told employees that the company’s investors were worried that Altman has no equityCNBC reported.