OpenAI to decide which backers to let into US$6.5 billion funding
OPENAI’S latest fundraising is nearing completion, with prospective investors set to find out on Friday (Sep 20) whether they will be part of the deal, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The US$6.5 billion funding round for the artificial intelligence (AI) startup is oversubscribed, meaning investors were hoping to put in more money than the company was ready to take on, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. One of the sources said that the excess demand was in the billions of US dollars, and some investors will find out on Friday that they did not make the cut.
OpenAI declined to comment.
Several strategic investors, including OpenAI’s biggest backer Microsoft and new investors Nvidia and Apple, are likely to get access, the source said.
The deal is set to value OpenAI at US$150 billion, a total that does not include the new investment, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The company was last valued at US$86 billion in an earlier financing deal.
At least one notable existing OpenAI investor will not be participating – Sequoia Capital, the sources said. Sequoia recently backed a rival AI business, Safe Superintelligence, which was started by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who departed the Sam Altman-led company earlier this year. Sequoia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Existing investor Thrive Capital is leading the current round and writing a check for US$1.25 billion, the sources said. Thrive Capital declined to comment. BLOOMBERG
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