OpenAI is worth more than USD 150 billion

OpenAI's funding round has closed, giving the artificial intelligence startup a $157 billion valuation. The $6.6 billion raise is one of the largest private investments ever and puts OpenAI among the three largest venture-backed startups, Bloomberg reported. Elon Musk's SpaceX and ByteDance, which owns TikTok, are the other two.

Thrive Capital, led by Joshua Kushner, reportedly led the funding round. Tech backers Microsoft and Nvidia reportedly backed the round, which included investors such as Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, SoftBank and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Meanwhile, Apple, which has a partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its iPhone operating system, recently dropped out of talks to participate in the funding round.

The new investment comes amid several executive resignations and reports that OpenAI is spending more than it is making. The startup's monthly revenue reached $300 million in August, up 1,700% from early 2023, the New York Times reported. According to the prestigious newspaper, OpenAI expects to end the year with $3.7 billion in annual sales, according to financial documents reviewed.

The company also expects to lose about $5 billion this year due to expenses such as running artificial intelligence models and paying employees. While next year, 11.6 billion dollars in revenue is expected.

OpenAI is considering restructuring its non-profit status to attract investors, the Financial Times previously reported. While CEO Sam Altman is reported to have told employees that he has no plans to take a "giant equity stake" in the company. In a meeting, both Altman and Sarah Friar, OpenAI's chief financial officer, told employees that the company's investors are worried about Altman's lack of capital.