OpenAI bags €6B funding at €142B valuation: Know more

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced that it has raised $6.6B (approximately €6B) in funding at a $157B (approximately €142B) post-money valuation. The company received funding in the form of convertible notes.

The funding round was backed majorly by existing venture capital investors, including Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Microsoft, and new participation from NVIDIA, reports Reuters. 

Thrive Capital has committed about $1.2B and has the option to invest another $1B next year at the same valuation if the AI firm meets a revenue goal.

Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, SoftBank, and Abu Dhabi’s state-backed investment firm MGX also participated in the round.

The new funding will allow us to double down on its leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools to help people solve hard problems.

“We’re grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone. By collaborating with key partners, including the U.S. and allied governments, we can unlock this technology’s full potential,” says the company. 

Sudden departure of OpenAI’s technical leaders

The announcement comes a few days after three of its technical leaders announced their sudden departure on X. 

Mira Murati, CTO

Barret Zoph, VP Research

Bob McGrew, Cheif Research Officers

OpenAI‘s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, informed employees that the company plans to provide a way for them to sell their shares through a tender offer after a recent funding round, reports Reuter. 

However, specific details and timing have not been determined yet. 

Additionally, earlier this year, the company allowed some employees to cash out their shares at a valuation of $86B.

The company is expected to generate $3.6B in revenue this year, despite incurring losses of over $5B. Sources familiar with the figures project a major revenue jump to $11.6 billion next year, reports Reuter.