OpenAI became one of the world's most valuable private companies after it raised $6.6 billion in the much-anticipated funding round, which valued the ChatGPT maker at $157 billion.
OpenAI did not name the investors, but reports said that the funding round was led by New York-based venture capital firm Thrive Capital, including the company's biggest backer Microsoft, Khosla Ventures and new participants, chipmaker Nvidia, SoftBank, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, and Abu Dhabi's state-backed investment firm MGX.
In a press release, OpenAI said that the new funding will allow the company "to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems."
OpenAI experienced a remarkable surge in both popularity and value with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. This development was widely regarded as the biggest story in the industry in recent years. It paved the way for the mainstream adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Thereafter, billions of dollars poured into investments in AI infrastructure.
OpenAI, founded in 2015, has around 250 million weekly active users. Also, there are 11 million ChatGPT Plus subscribers and 1 million paying business users on ChatGPT.
"Every week, over 250 million people around the world use ChatGPT to enhance their work, creativity, and learning. Across industries, businesses are improving productivity and operations, and developers are leveraging our platform to create a new generation of applications. And we're only getting started," the company said.
According to a CNBC report, OpenAI generated $300 million in revenue last month, marking an increase of 1,700% since the beginning of last year. The company expects to bring $11.6 billion in sales next year, an increase from $3.7 billion in 2024.
"AI is already personalizing learning, accelerating healthcare breakthroughs, and driving productivity," ChatGPT CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement.
"We're grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone. By collaborating with key partners, including the U.S. and allied governments, we can unlock this technology's full potential," the company stated.
Last week, OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati announced her departure from the Microsoft-backed AI research organization. Along with her, two other top senior executives, Vice President of Research Barret Zoph and Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew, also shared the news about them leaving the company.
The news came as OpenAI's board is reportedly considering plans to restructure the company to a for-profit business.
At the time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed his gratitude to the three top executives for their contributions and called such changes a "natural part of companies."
