OpenAI To Buy Product Testing Startup Statsig For $1.1 Billion

OpenAI has agreed to buy product testing startup Statsig for $1.1 billion in an all-stock deal, the company said, marking one of the largest acquisitions in the ChatGPT maker’s history.

Statsig, founded in 2021, builds tools to help software developers test and flag potential new features. Its services have been used by employees at OpenAI, Eventbrite Inc., SoundCloud Ltd. and other tech firms, according to Statsig’s website. Statsig raised $100 million in a funding round earlier this year, valuing it at $1.1 billion. 

As part of the acquisition, Statsig’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Vijaye Raji will join OpenAI as chief technology officer of applications, the company said in a blog post Tuesday. He’ll report to Fidji Simo, the former Instacart head who recently took over as CEO of that division. In a statement, Simo said Raji would help companies and developers use OpenAI’s technology to build “safe applications that empower people.”

OpenAI has been more aggressive this year in pursuing big-ticket acquisitions, fueled in part by its soaring valuation. In March, OpenAI said it had finalized a deal to raise $40 billion in funding at a $300 billion valuation, including the money raised. Now, the company is in talks to let current and former employees sell shares at a $500 billion valuation, Bloomberg News has reported. 

In July, OpenAI closed a $6.5 billion all-stock deal to buy an AI device startup co-founded by Apple Inc.’s former design chief Jony Ive. OpenAI also agreed to buy AI coding startup Windsurf for about $3 billion, but the deal fell through. 

The Statsig acquisition is pending regulatory review. After the deal closes, the startup will continue to operate in Seattle.

In addition to Raji, OpenAI is making several other changes to its leadership team. Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s chief product officer, is taking on a new role as vice president of a new team called AI for Science, the spokesperson said. Srinivas Narayanan, vice president of engineering, will become chief technology officer of B2B applications. And several product leaders, including Nick Turley, Ashley Alexander and Ian Silber, will report to Simo.