OpenAI’s valuation reportedly soars to $80 billion in latest deal

OpenAI has reportedly signed a deal that has increased the valuation of the San Francisco artificial intelligence (AI) company to $80 billion or more, marking a nearly threefold increase in less than 10 months. 

According to a New York Times report, the firm plans to sell current shares in a tender offer led by Thrive Capital. This approach allows employees to sell their shares, differing from a standard funding round aimed at raising capital for business operations.

In a comparable arrangement last year, venture capital firms Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and K2 Global agreed to purchase OpenAI shares in a tender offer, establishing the company’s value at approximately $29 billion, according to the report.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also reportedly been in talks to raise funds for a chip venture and pitching partnerships between the firm and “various investors,” chip makers and energy providers . The CEO said OpenAI would agree to be a “significant customer” of the new factories as he looks to boost the world’s chip-building capacity to drive new AI-related tools.

In December 2023, it was reported that OpenAI was in discussions with investors considering investing more than $100 billion into the company.

This deal is crucial for OpenAI, providing vital support after a tumultuous period. In November, the board ousted CEO Sam Altman , causing chaos and raising doubts about the company’s future. Employees threatened to resign in solidarity which led to Altman’s reinstatement , with some board members departing.

Related: Your right to bear AI could soon be infringed upon

To address last year’s issues, OpenAI enlisted law firm WilmerHale to examine the board’s decisions and Mr. Altman’s leadership. The report on the matter is anticipated from WilmerHale early this year.

The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has kicked off the buzz around AI, prompting companies to explore ways to harness the power of the technology. The AI firm unveiled its first-ever text-to-video model on Thursday, Feb. 15.

Though the firm admits the model still has a ways to go, the new generative AI model dubbed Sora creates detailed videos from simple text prompts, continues existing videos, and even generates scenes based on a still image.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Cointelegraph request for comment on the deal signing.

Magazine: Crypto+AI token picks, AGI will take ‘a long time’, Galaxy AI to 100M phones: AI Eye