OpenAI has entered into early discussions over launching a new round of funding in which the artificial intelligence company will have a valuation of over $100 billion. While the exact details of the funding round have not yet been divulged by the organizers, a funding round at this valuation would make the ChatGPT maker one of the most valuable startups on earth.
To date, OpenAI has raised $13 billion from Microsoft Corp. The company is also set to secure a tender offer in early January that would enable employees to sell their shares in the company at a combined value of $86 billion in a process led by Thrive Capital. Open AI has also held discussions with Abu Dhabi-based G42 to establish a new chip venture “to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions to the UAE and regional markets,” as explained during the announcement of the venture in October.
OpenAI’s increasing fundraising and business transactions come amid an AI frenzy, with Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent company Alphabet Inc. both investing billions into OpenAI-rival Anthropic. Salesforce has also entered into the AI race, investing $4.5 billion in Hugging Face.