OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is considering raising more money through a new funding round. This could value the company at over $100 billion, making it one of the world's most valuable startups after Elon Musk's SpaceX.
In the early stages of this process, discussions have taken place with potential investors, as per a report by Bloomberg. However, specific details such as the terms, valuation, and timing of the funding round are still being worked out and may undergo changes.
OpenAI in talks to raise fresh funding
The hottest startup in Silicon Valley has already raised about $13 billion from Microsoft. OpenAI's upward growth trajectory is in tandem with the artificial intelligence boom brought on by ChatGPT last year.
The AI boom has not only led to a technology revolution but also led to over-the-top valuations for a lot of companies, one of them being NVIDIA, which became the sixth company in the world this year to be valued at over $1 trillion after Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Saudi Aramco.
OpenAI is reportedly in talks with G42, an AI development company based in Abu Dhabi, for funding a new chip venture. The discussions involve raising $8 billion to $10 billion for the project, known as Tigris, which aims to develop semiconductors to rival NVIDIA in the AI chip market.
According to a report by Reuters, OpenAI was mulling in October to either purchase a semiconductor company to make custom chips or to make in-house AI chips.
Terms and timing yet to be finalised
OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, has been actively seeking capital for this chipmaking initiative. The funding discussions come amid recent leadership upheaval at OpenAI, when Altman was temporarily removed from his position, leading to initial uncertainty about the company's future.
Scheduled for early January, the company is reportedly concluding a separate tender offer, enabling employees to offload their shares at an impressive valuation of $86 billion, reported Bloomberg earlier.
The offer would be spearheaded by Thrive Capital and has witnessed greater investor demand than the available shares, as disclosed by individuals familiar with the situation, reported Bloomberg.
thanks a lot for these! some common requests:
AGI (a little patience please)
GPT-5
better voice mode
higher rate limits
better GPTs
better reasoning
control over degree of wokeness/behavior
video
personalization
better browsing
'sign in with openai'
open source https://t.co/5cyHwu4Mj2— Sam Altman (@sama) December 23, 2023
Sam Altman recently asked his followers on X as to what they're expecting from OpenAI in 2024. The list he got back included artificial general intelligence (AGI), GPT-5, more personalization, better reasoning, better GPTs, and more.
While it isn't clear what OpenAI is planning to do if it raises funds from a $100 billion evaluation, it is clear that the competition in the AI race will likely get fiercer in 2024, with 2023 being the year of groundbreaking advances.
Originally published on Interesting Engineering : Original article