KEY TAKEAWAYS
- OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in new funding, valuing the artificial intelligence (AI) startup behind ChatGPT at $157 billion.
- According to The Wall Street Journal, investors in the Microsoft-backed startup’s funding round include Nvidia.
- OpenAI’s investors reportedly can withdraw their funds if the firm doesn’t convert into a for-profit firm within two years but can’t invest in its largest private rivals.
Artificial intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in new funding at a $157 billion valuation—more than the market caps of companies like Uber Technologies (UBER) and Lowe’s (LOW).
The latest funding values the startup behind ChatGPT at nearly double the $86 billion it reportedly was valued at early this year.
“The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems,” the Microsoft (MSFT)-backed company said.
OpenAI didn’t disclose the investors but according to The Wall Street Journal, venture capital firm Thrive Capital led the funding round, which also included Microsoft, AI chip darling Nvidia (NVDA), SoftBank, and Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management.
Investors Can Pull Cash If OpenAI Doesn’t Become For-Profit Firm in 2 Years
Investors in the funding round will have the right to pull out their cash if OpenAI doesn’t convert into a for-profit firm within two years, according to the Journal.
The company reportedly told the investors it doesn’t want them to invest in its largest private rivals, including Elon Musk’s xAI, Anthropic, and Safe Superintelligence, co-founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.
OpenAI didn’t immediately return an Investopedia request for comment.