OpenAI has closed a blockbuster funding round that could raise as much as $110bn and values the ChatGPT maker at $730bn, as the AI start-up tries to wrestle back its lead from rivals Anthropic and Google. Nvidia, Amazon and SoftBank all participated in the fundraising.
The deal marks a stepping stone towards an IPO as early as the end of this year, according to people with knowledge of its plans. Friday’s funding round dwarfs a $30bn deal clinched by Anthropic this year and a $41bn investment into OpenAI in 2025 — at the time the largest start-up investment ever.
It gives further evidence of investors’ appetite to fund lossmaking AI groups in spite of growing concerns about a bubble in the sector.
The vast majority of OpenAI’s new financing will come from strategic investors rather than venture capital firms. Nvidia and SoftBank have each committed $30bn, to be paid in three instalments. Amazon will invest $15bn initially and another $35bn either when OpenAI goes public or manages to build the much more powerful AI dubbed “artificial general intelligence”.
