OpenAI is reportedly aiming to raise $6.5 billion in a new funding round, potentially boosting its valuation to $150 billion, according to sources cited by Bloomberg on Wednesday. Thrive Capital is expected to lead the round, with participation from major investors like Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia.

OpenAI is considering a $5 billion debt facility, as per Bloomberg's report. If successful, the new valuation would mark a significant increase from the company’s previous $86 billion valuation. The funds are anticipated to support OpenAI’s operations, including investments in computing infrastructure and other critical expenses.

This valuation would position OpenAI as the most valuable venture-backed private company in the US, second only to SpaceX’s valuation, according to Crunchbase. It would also surpass the initial market capitalizations of nearly all US venture-backed startups that have gone public, with Meta (formerly Facebook) being a notable exception.
 

Funding talks continue

The funding round is being led by New York-based venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which is expected to contribute $1 billion. Major industry players like Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are also anticipated to participate. Microsoft stock price target on AI transformation, as it looks to take a big bite out of the ever-expanding artificial intelligence market.

Renowned for its development of cutting-edge AI models, including the GPT series, OpenAI has secured approximately $13.5 billion in funding across 11 rounds. Microsoft remains the company’s largest investor, contributing around $13 billion. Since Nvidia’s ai business is booming, its potential involvement could signal a significant collaboration, as its chips are critical to AI development.

Microsoft has been OpenAI's largest supporter since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. Last year, it integrated several OpenAI models into its own tools, including Bing and Copilot.

In July, Microsoft relinquished its observer seat on OpenAI’s board, citing “significant progress” in the startup and stating it no longer sees the need for board representation. This move comes amid ongoing antitrust scrutiny in the US regarding Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI.
 

Developments and evolvement of OpenAI

Founded in 2015, OpenAI has been at the forefront of the technology industry's rapid shift toward artificial intelligence (AI). The 2022 launch of its user-friendly chatbot, ChatGPT, sparked a wave of investment interest. OpenAI's products, which can generate lifelike images and human-like text from simple prompts, have captured the attention of both consumers and investors alike.

Since its inception, OpenAI has undergone significant changes. In late 2022, the company briefly removed its CEO, Sam Altman. Today, only a few members of the original founding team remain, and OpenAI has restructured its board of directors and expanded its executive leadership.

OpenAI advertises GPT-4o mini as a model that can perform various tasks at a low cost and latency. The company claims it’s an upgrade from its previous “small models” such as GPT-3.5 Turbo.