OpenAI raises $6.6 billion from investors, giving it a post-money valuation of $157 billion, the company announced Wednesday, cementing the ChatGPT maker's position as one of the world's most valuable privately held companies. I made it.
The funding attracts returning venture capital investors like Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, as well as Microsoft, OpenAI's biggest corporate backer, and new participation from Nvidia.
The fund's closure coincides with the company's ongoing restructuring efforts and executive changes, including the sudden departure of longtime chief technology officer Mira Murati last week.
Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's state-owned investment company MGX also participated in the round.
Funding was in the form of convertible debt and was dependent on the successful transformation of the company into a for-profit entity, which would remove control from a nonprofit board, and the removal of caps on returns to investors.
This personnel change does not dampen the enthusiasm of most investors, who are expecting significant growth based on predictions from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar.
The company is on pace to post $3.6 billion in revenue this year, despite mounting losses of more than $5 billion. The company expects sales to jump significantly to $11.6 billion next year, according to people familiar with the numbers.
Investors also have some protections as OpenAI goes through a complex corporate restructuring that awards Altman stock. Negotiations are still ongoing and a schedule has not yet been determined.
Investors are negotiating terms that would allow them to recover capital or renegotiate the valuation if changes are not implemented within two years, the people said.
OpenAI quickly rose in terms of product popularity and reputation, captivating the world's imagination. Since its inception, ChatGPT has attracted 250 million active users every week. As revenue rose from zero to $3.6 billion, the company's valuation also rose from $14 billion in 2021 to $157 billion, far exceeding Altman's own predictions at the time.
The company told investors that it continues to aggressively pursue the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), or AI systems that surpass human intelligence, to accelerate commercialization and increase profits.
