OpenAI recently completed a historic funding round, raising $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion.
Leading the funding was Thrive Capital, which contributed $1 billion and secured a special agreement that allows for an additional $1 billion investment next year, contingent on OpenAI achieving target revenues. This revenue target is partly dependent on whether OpenAI is restructured as a commercial company; if this does not happen within two years, investors may demand a return of their funds.
Last week, Reuters reported that OpenAI is considering becoming a public-benefit corporation, similar to Anthropic.
Other investors include Microsoft, Nvidia, and SoftBank, but notably absent is Apple, which opted out of funding despite lengthy negotiations, according to Axios.
The Verge noted that OpenAI asked investors not to support competing startups, particularly Anthropic and Elon Musk's xAI. Musk's company secured $6 billion in funding back in May.
The valuation of OpenAI in this funding round is an astonishing 40 times its reported revenue, underscoring the immense excitement surrounding AI in Silicon Valley.
According to The New York Times, OpenAI's monthly revenue reached $300 million in August, while the company anticipates around $3.7 billion in annual sales for 2024, with projections that revenue could hit $11.6 billion the following year.
“Funding will enable us to double down on our leadership in cutting-edge AI research, increase our computational capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve complex problems,” OpenAI stated in its blog announcement.
