OpenAI Raise $6.6 Billion to Scale Benefits of AI

OpenAI, developer of generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, on Wednesday said that it has raised $6.6 billion in new funding at a $157 billion post-money valuation to accelerate progress on its mission.

The funding is said to be the largest VC round of all time, a record which was held by Elon Musk’s xAI, which raised $6 billion earlier this year.

The new funding from investors such as Abu Dhabi government-backed technology company MGX, the US tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia, venture capital investors such as Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, will allow the company double down on its leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems.

MGX, which was launched in March this year, has been scouting for the world’s biggest scale global technology investments. MGX has also joined BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Microsoft, in a Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to invest up to $100 billion in AI data centres and supporting energy infrastructure.

Making Progress

OpenAI has been making progress on its mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Every week, over 250 million people around the world use ChatGPT to enhance their work, creativity, and learning.

“Across industries, businesses are improving productivity and operations, and developers are leveraging our platform to create a new generation of applications. And we’re only getting started,” OpenAI said.

OpenAI also said that it aims to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource and was grateful to its investors for their trust in the company, and it was looking forward to work with its partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone.

“By collaborating with key partners, including the US and allied governments, we can unlock this technology’s full potential,” the company said.

According to a New York Times report, OpenAI has more than quadrupled its value since last year, when its valuation reached $29 billion in 2023 and to over $80 billion in February this year. The company has increased its workforce from 1,000 to 1,700 this year.

OpenAI is at the forefront of the AI boom and has consistently received backing from other tech giants like Microsoft, an early investor that has since sunk at least $13 billion into OpenAI since 2019, the report said.

OpenAI’s conversion from a charitable non-profit to a for-profit company has been closely watched as it grows its offerings and revenue. The company expects to generate $3.7 billion in sales this year and about $5 billion in losses, the report said.