OpenAI has completed a $40 billion fundraising deal led by SoftBank, doubling its valuation to $300 billion and making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world alongside SpaceX and ByteDance. The investment, announced on Monday, reflects the tech industry’s ongoing excitement over artificial intelligence, despite concerns about its effectiveness and safety.
OpenAI, which started the A.I. boom in late 2022 with its ChatGPT chatbot, has seen a significant increase in users, with 500 million people actively using the chatbot each week. The company also reports that 20 million people are paying to use more advanced versions of the tool.
The $40 billion investment will be made in two parts, with SoftBank providing 75 percent of the total funding. Other investors include Microsoft, Thrive Capital, Coatue, and Altimeter. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, expressed excitement about the investment and how it will help the company continue pushing the frontier of A.I. technology.
OpenAI’s history includes a transition from a nonprofit founded in 2015 to a for-profit company in 2018. There have been controversies surrounding control of the company, involving disagreements between former members like Elon Musk and Sam Altman. The company aims to shift control to a public benefit corporation by the end of the year, but potential complications have arisen, including a rejected bid from Musk’s consortium to buy the nonprofit’s assets for over $97 billion.
Ultimately, the $40 billion investment signals a bright future for OpenAI and its continued development of advanced A.I. technologies.
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