The new valuation makes the startup one of the most valuable companies in the world, having previously been valued at “only” $86 billion.

The startup is in talks to raise $6.5 billion from a variety of investors, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The valuation does not include the amount of money being invested.

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OpenAI joins the ranks of private companies with market capitalizations that outpace their industry peers. Photo: Globo

The latest round of funding will be led by Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, a New York venture capital firm known for its early investments in startups like Instagram, Stripe, Robinhood, Spotify, and Slack.

Microsoft, a partner since 2019, Apple and even Nvidia have also discussed investing in the ChatGPT manufacturer.

OpenAI is a startup with an unconventional structure, as its predecessor was a non-profit organization in partnership with a commercial arm, but the company is a leading name in the field of AI.

In a memo to employees last month, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said the money raised would be used for computing power and other operating expenses.

As such, OpenAI has joined the ranks of privately held companies with valuations far exceeding those of most publicly traded peers.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX was valued at nearly $210 billion in June, after selling private shares for $112 in a public offering. Other major private companies include TikTok parent ByteDance, which was valued at $286 billion late last year, and Stripe, which was valued at $70 billion in July.

(According to Bloomberg)

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