OpenAI, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence giant, is in exploratory talks to acquire a new round of funding, with a valuation of up to $100 billion on the table. According to the Bloomberg article, the specifics of the conditions, valuation, and timing of this funding campaign have yet to be finalized and are susceptible to change.
Furthermore, OpenAI is said to be in talks with G42, an Abu Dhabi-based organization, about funding for a new chip project. The study, however, does not demonstrate a conclusive link between the chip venture conversations and the broader finance discussions at OpenAI. It expands on discussions aimed at securing an investment of $8 billion to $10 billion from G42.
OpenAI is anticipated to complete a tender offer backed by Thrive Capital in a separate venture by early January. This action is intended to allow the company's employees to sell shares at a $86 billion valuation.
Microsoft has already committed to investing more than $10 billion in OpenAI. This pledge follows the development of ChatGPT, a conversational AI system capable of producing human-like responses based on user input, by OpenAI in November 2022, which made a significant contribution to the emergence of generative artificial intelligence.
The release of ChatGPT raised the profile of AI technology tremendously, boosting OpenAI's worth to unprecedented heights. Previously, the corporation completed a $300 million share sale, valuing the company at $30 billion.
Notably, OpenAI underwent a leadership turnover in late November involving CEO Sam Altman, who was unceremoniously fired on November 17 without explanation, generating worry among investors and employees. Altman was restored four days later, followed by guarantees of a restructured board structure. As Altman revealed during the November developments, Microsoft's involvement on OpenAI's board will be in a non-voting, observer capacity.
