OpenAI has raised a megaround of $6.6B, valuing the company at $157B.
It is the largest single venture capital round ever. In May 2024, xAI raised $6B Series B with a valuation of $24B.
Why it matters: Despite leadership turnover with the exit of CTO Mira Murati and others, OpenAI has maintained to earn investors’ confidence. However, this huge influx puts a greater focus on revenue growth and commercial success to justify the investment.
Zooming in: Thrive Capital led the round with $1.2B, with the option to invest an additional $1B next year if revenue goals are met. Other investors include Khosla Ventures, Microsoft, Nvidia, and more. Apple was in talks but did not join.
The funding will strengthen leadership in OpenAI’s AI research, expand compute capacity, and build tools.
It has asked investors to avoid backing rivals like Elon Musk’s xAI and Anthropic.
By the numbers: OpenAI has become the third most valuable venture-backed startup, following ByteDance and SpaceX.
