OpenAI completes largest venture funding round in history with $6.6 billion

OpenAI announced Wednesday that it has closed a new round of funding that had been in negotiations for months and had caused a rift within the organization. ChatGPT has raised $6.6 billion in the largest venture capital deal in history. According to the agreement, its partners value OpenAI at $157 billion (about 142 billion euros).

The organization needed a fresh injection of capital after accumulating losses of about $5 billion this year alone and failing to create a profitable business model. “The new funds will allow us to double down on our leadership in cutting-edge artificial intelligence research, increase computing power, and continue building tools that help people solve complex problems,” OpenAI said. “By collaborating with key partners, including the governments of the United States and its allies, we will be able to realize the full potential of this technology,” he added.

ChatGPT’s creator received $10 billion from Microsoft in 2023, but it was an enterprise deal that included credits for use of the multinational company’s data centers and cloud computing power, not just cash. Microsoft, as well as Nvidia and SoftBank also participated in this round, as confirmed by these companies in recent days.

The agreement includes the eventual transition of OpenAI into a private company, Axios reported. The organization, which was born as a nonprofit lab to develop open-source artificial intelligence and help understand the technology, will have to return money to investors if it doesn’t complete the process within two years. However, this would already be a very advanced step, as evidenced by the resignation of many OpenAI founders and directors over the summer.

Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, is the last member of the founding team remaining at the helm. Clashes between advocates for the organization to remain true to its original mission as a laboratory and Altman led to his ouster in November 2023. However, a revolt of investors and employees, in which Microsoft itself acted as a mediator, returned his position to him a few days later.

“We are advancing our mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity,” OpenAI insisted in its statement: “Our goal is to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource. “We thank our investors for their trust in us and look forward to working with our partners, developers and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone.”