OpenAI has completed a deal to raise $122 billion from investors at an $852 billion valuation, marking the company's largest funding round to date by far and bolstering its costly push for more chips, data centers and talent.
The bulk of the financing, which had been in the works for months, came from three large tech companies. Amazon.com Inc. agreed to invest $50 billion in the round, while Nvidia Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp. each put in $30 billion. A large portion of Amazon's investment — $35 billion — is contingent on OpenAI going public or reaching the technological milestone of artificial general intelligence.
The ChatGPT maker also secured funding from a long list of other prominent backers, including Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi's MGX, D.E. Shaw Ventures, TPG and T. Rowe Price. The company's valuation includes the money raised. Bloomberg News previously reported details of those talks and the financial terms of the deal.
In a first for the company, OpenAI raised more than $3 billion from individual investors through bank channels. The startup also said it will be included in several exchange-traded funds managed by Cathie Wood's Ark Invest, with the goal of offering more people exposure to the AI firm.
OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said the financing “blows out of the water even the largest IPO that's ever been done.” The deal, she said, is meant to give the company “a lot of flexibility” to invest in computing resources and its AI roadmap at a time of broader uncertainty for the public markets, including from the Iran war.
ALSO READ: OpenAI Shutters AI Video Generator Sora, Here's Why
The AI developer has previously said it's committed to spending more than $1.4 trillion on physical infrastructure in the coming years to support its AI software. To finance those bets, OpenAI and rival Anthropic PBC have tapped an overlapping group of venture funds and tech companies, including their cloud and chip suppliers like Amazon and Nvidia. The complex web of tie-ups has sparked concerns about the fallout if the technology doesn't match today's lofty expectations.
The two startups are also expected to go public as soon as this year, bringing in additional capital and testing Wall Street's appetite for unprofitable but fast-growing AI businesses. Friar said OpenAI needs to be “public-company capable,” referring to it as “good hygiene” for a business, without sharing specific details of plans for an initial public offering. She also said an IPO can serve as a “trust-building moment” for a firm.
OpenAI said Tuesday that it's currently generating $2 billion in revenue each month. The company, which gained household attention as a product for everyday users, is also seeing traction among business customers. Enterprise sales now make up 40% of its revenue, the company said, with that figure expected to increase to 50% by year's end.
The company's financial commitment from Amazon also comes with a cloud agreement to host and distribute OpenAI's models for enterprise customers. That partnership will include a revenue-sharing agreement, Friar said, without disclosing how much.
OpenAI has stepped up its revenue push this year by introducing advertising in ChatGPT, an option that Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman had once described as a “last resort.” The company, which has traditionally relied on a subscription model, said its ads pilot program hit $100 million in annualized revenue after just six weeks.
In recent weeks, OpenAI has moved to streamline its sprawling mix of products. The company said it is discontinuing support for the Sora AI video generator. It is also developing a desktop application to bring together its chatbot, coding tool and web browser — a product that OpenAI is referred to in its blog post as “our SuperApp.”
ALSO READ: Techie Uses AI Chatbots To Make Vaccine To Cure Dog's Cancer, Gets Praise From Sam Altman
“Users do not want disconnected tools. They want a single system that can understand intent, take action, and operate across applications, data, and workflows,” the company said in a blog post Tuesday, confirming the plans.
In a staff memo about the decision to nix Sora, Altman said OpenAI will also be reorganizing some of its security and safety teams to better integrate that work into the development process and give the CEO more time to focus on infrastructure projects and raising capital.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
