OpenAI Raises $122B in Funding Round, Valuation Hits $852B
The funding consolidates OpenAI's position as one of the most highly valued private companies worldwide.
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OpenAI, in a recent blog post, announced the close of a $122 billion fundraising round, valuing the company at $852 billion, cementing its position among the world’s most highly valued private firms.
The AI firm received multibillion-dollar investments from companies including Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, which committed $110 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI also allowed a select group of individual investors to contribute about $3 billion. Last month, OpenAI said it was expecting to raise $110 billion in funding, but upped that figure in its latest announcement.
The company is eyeing a US stock market listing later this year, in one of the most highly anticipated public offerings in decades. As it moves towards it, the firm is simultaneously facing numerous lawsuits, advances from competitors, public distrust, and doubts about AI being a bubble.
“AI is driving productivity gains, accelerating scientific discovery, and expanding what people and organizations can build. This funding gives us the resources to continue to lead at the scale this moment demands,” reads the funding announcement. “Let’s go build.”
The company also announced that it would build a “unified AI superapp”, centralising ChatGPT, its coding product, web browsing, and the capabilities of AI agents, which are semi-autonomous bots that act on a user’s behalf.
While the company does not expect to be profitable until 2030, it says it will generate $2 billion in revenue monthly. As of now, enterprise sales make up 40% of its revenue, with that figure expected to increase to 50% by the end of this year. To boost revenue, the company has also introduced advertising in ChatGPT, an option that its chief, Sam Altman, had previously described as a “last resort.”
Last week, OpenAI shut down Sora, its video generation platform and ended a $1billion deal with Disney. The company also quietly ended a shopping tool, Instant Checkout, after a five-month trial, which allowed users to purchase items from retailers through ChatGPT.
The AI developer has previously mentioned its plan to spend more than $1.4 trillion on physical infrastructure in the coming years to support its AI software. Hence, the company continues to manufacture more chips, build data centres, and hire talent as the AI race heats up.
