OpenAI in fundraising talks at $150 bln valuation- Bloomberg

OpenAI is in talks to raise funds at a valuation of $150 billion, Bloomberg reported on late-Wednesday, potentially solidifying its status as an artificial intelligence stalwart and one of the world’s most valuable startups.

The company is considering raising $6.5 billion in equity financing, and is also in talks with banks over a $5 billion credit line, Bloomberg reported, citing people close to the matter. 

The new, $150 billion valuation is nearly twice as high as the $86 billion seen during a tender offer earlier this year. Bloomberg had earlier reported that Thrive Capital was leading the funding round. 

The company shot up popularity with the release of its viral ChatGPT bot in late-2022, which instantly became one of the most-used applications ever. 

It also ranks Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT ) among its investors, although the nature of this relationship has attracted antitrust scrutiny. 

Led by Sam Altman, OpenAI is likely to remain private for longer with its latest capital injection.

But the company’s rise in popularity has not been without its fair share of controversy. An attempt by the board to oust Altman in late-2023 saw a massive shake-up in OpenAI’s top management, which also saw several major figures, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever, eventually leave the company. 

The staggered release of its “advanced voice mode” feature had also drawn ire from several users, as did growing concerns that the company’s generative AI models were now lagging behind competitors such as Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini. 

Source: Investing.com