Mira Murati’s new startup, Thinking Machine Labs, is reportedly aiming to raise a $1 billion funding round at a valuation of approximately $9 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Business Insider. The funding round is currently underway, and details could evolve.
Mira Murati’s Thinking Machine Labs seeks $1 billion funding
A $9 billion valuation is unusually high for a startup that has been in operation for less than a year; however, investor interest in AI startups, particularly those founded by former OpenAI employees, has surged. Murati previously served as CTO at OpenAI for six and a half years, contributing to the development of ChatGPT and various AI research initiatives. Following the abrupt dismissal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in November 2023, Murati was briefly appointed as interim CEO before Altman returned to the role and Murati resumed her position as CTO.
The speculation regarding Murati’s next steps post-OpenAI culminated in the emergence of Thinking Machine Labs from stealth last week. In a recent blog post, Murati outlined the mission of her startup as focusing on enhancing accessibility in artificial intelligence. She stated, “To bridge the gaps, we’re building Thinking Machines Lab to make AI systems more widely understood, customizable and generally capable.”
As we covered last month, Murati has attracted a team of engineers and AI researchers from notable tech companies including OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic. Key hires include John Schulman, who co-led the ChatGPT project; Jonathan Lachman, the former head of special projects at OpenAI; Barret Zoph, a co-creator of ChatGPT; and Alexander Kirillov, who collaborated closely with Murati on ChatGPT’s voice mode.
Murati is one of several former OpenAI executives launching their own ventures. Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s cofounder and chief scientist, left the company in May 2024 to establish Safe Superintelligence Inc., which raised $1 billion shortly thereafter. The Amodei brothers, Dario and Daniela, also transitioned from OpenAI to found Anthropic in 2021, which has subsequently secured substantial funding, including $8 billion from Amazon.
Murati employed Jonathan Lachman as part of her initiative to build a strong team in her new AI lab, which is still unnamed and lacks a defined product direction at this stage. Approximately 10 researchers and engineers from other AI companies, such as Character AI and Google DeepMind, have joined her startup.
Murati’s exit from OpenAI was closely tied to a tumultuous period for the organization, particularly following the sacking of Sam Altman. During the leadership crisis, which nearly resulted in mass resignations, Altman referred to Murati’s promotion as interim CEO as “the low point.” Following her departure from OpenAI in September 2023, Murati expressed gratitude towards Altman in her farewell letter, emphasizing her desire to create space for her own exploration.
Approximately one month after leaving OpenAI, Murati sought to raise over $100 million to finance her new undertaking, although this amount was not finalized. Other significant departures from OpenAI during this time included Barret Zoph and Bob McGrew, who served as the chief research officer.
Featured image credit: Christie Hemm Lokk for Fortune
