OpenAI is negotiating financing, with a valuation of more than $100 billion | Wilnesh News

OpenAI is negotiating a round of financing that would value the artificial intelligence startup at more than $100 billion, CNBC has learned.

Thrive Capital is the lead investor in this round and will invest $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the details are confidential.

Earlier this year, OpenAI’s valuation reportedly increased to $80 billion, up from $29 billion last year. Annualized revenue was reported to have exceeded $2 billion earlier this year. The company began growing after launching the ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, and has continued to launch enterprise products and expand into artificial intelligence-generated photos and videos.

The Wall Street Journal is first report and expressed MicrosoftOpenAI’s largest backer also participated in the round. Microsoft declined to comment.

This comes after OpenAI announced last week that it would launch a prototype of its search engine, called Search GPTwhich aims to provide users with “quick, timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

The company said it eventually plans to integrate the tool into its ChatGPT chatbot, which it is currently testing with a small group of users.

The rollout could have ramifications for Google and its dominant search engine. Since the launch of ChatGPT, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could take search market share from Google by providing new ways for consumers to search for information online.

With this prototype, OpenAI is testing doing just that, promising users “a more natural, intuitive way to search” and ask follow-up questions “just like in a conversation.”

“We believe there is room for better search than today,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a note Thursday. postal on X.

An OpenAI spokesman declined to comment.

CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.