OpenAI announced Tuesday that it closed a record funding round at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
The round brings total committed capital to $122 billion, higher than the $110 billion figure the company announced in February. Softbank OpenAI said it co-led the round with other investors including Andreessen Horowitz and DE Shaw Ventures.
OpenAI sparked the artificial intelligence boom with the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022 and has since grown to become one of the fastest-growing commercial entities on the planet. As of March, ChatGPT supports over 900 million weekly active users, including over 50 million subscribers.
“AI is driving productivity gains, accelerating scientific discovery, and expanding what people and organizations can build,” OpenAI said in a release. “This funding gives us the resources to continue to lead at the scale required at this time.”
With the latest round of funding closing, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be under pressure to justify his company’s huge valuation, especially as the company gears up for a potential IPO. In recent months, the company has pulled back on major spending plans and shut down certain features and products, including its short-form video app Sora, to control costs.
OpenAI announced Tuesday that it generates $2 billion in monthly revenue. Last year’s revenue was $13.1 billion. The company is still burning through cash and is not yet turning a profit.
In February, OpenAI revealed $110 billion in commitments from select strategic investors that formed the backbone of its funding round. Amazon agreed to invest up to $50 billion in startups; Nvidia invested $30 billion, and SoftBank also invested $30 billion.
OpenAI’s additional $12 billion in funding came from a broader range of investors. OpenAI announced that it has expanded participation to investors through banking channels for the first time, raising $3 billion from retail investors.
microsoftone of OpenAI’s longtime partners, also participated, although OpenAI did not disclose the size of its investment in Tuesday’s release. As of late last year, Microsoft had invested more than $13 billion in the startup.
“Moments like this don’t come around often,” OpenAI said. “The money being put in now is helping build the infrastructure layer of intelligence itself. Over time, that value will flow back into the economy, businesses, communities, and increasingly individuals.”
— CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos contributed to this report.
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