OpenAI raised an additional $10 billion, increasing the round to $120 billion

OpenAI is attracting an additional $10 billion in investment as part of its record-breaking funding round. As a result, the total amount of funds raised will exceed $120 billion.

The additional $10 billion round included participation from Andreessen Horowitz, D.E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, and T. Rowe Price. Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s key partners and a provider of computing power, also joined the investment. Despite changes in the nature of their collaboration, CFO Sara Friar called Microsoft an “incredible partner” and highlighted the contribution of CEO Satya Nadella, who supported OpenAI in its early stages.

The company raised funds from a broad range of investors — from venture capital firms and private equity to sovereign wealth funds and asset managers. According to her, this confirms a high level of confidence in the AI market as a whole.

The news about the additional funding came approximately a month after OpenAI announced it had raised $110 billion at a valuation of $730 billion before the investment. At that time, the largest investors were Amazon, which invested $50 billion, as well as Nvidia and SoftBank, each investing $30 billion.

In addition to investments, Amazon entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with OpenAI. The companies plan to develop custom AI models for Amazon’s consumer services and expand their existing agreement with the company’s cloud division by $100 billion over the next eight years.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously stated that artificial intelligence would become a ubiquitous technology and is already transforming the global economy, and that the world will need significantly more computing power to meet growing demand.

OpenAI, founded in 2015, has shown rapid growth since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. According to CNBC, the number of weekly active users of the service reached 900 million, and the company’s revenue last year was approximately $13.1 billion.

According to Friar, about 60% of OpenAI’s current revenue comes from the consumer segment, while corporate clients account for approximately 40%. However, the B2B segment is growing faster, and the company expects a more balanced ratio by the end of the year.

OpenAI is also actively expanding its cooperation with business clients amid intensifying competition with Anthropic, the developer of the Claude chatbot. Among OpenAI’s corporate clients are Amgen, Lowe’s, Estée Lauder, and JetBlue. Meanwhile, Anthropic, backed by Google and Amazon, derives about 80% of its revenue from the corporate segment and works with companies such as Shopify, HubSpot, and Spotify.

Both companies are considering going public. According to the Financial Times, Anthropic could hold its IPO as early as 2026. When asked about a potential OpenAI listing, Friar stated that the company is “starting to build this path,” but the timing will depend on both the company’s readiness and market conditions.

In preparation for an IPO, OpenAI is reviewing its expenses and priorities. If the company previously considered infrastructure investments at the level of $1.4 trillion, it now aims for approximately $600 billion by 2030, in line with projected revenue growth, according to CNBC.

It also became known that OpenAI is shutting down its short-video app Sora. According to Friar, this is due to a lack of computing power and the need to focus on more priority and profitable areas.

Source: cnbc.com