OpenAI Sets Sights on $100 Billion, Trailing SpaceX in Race for Valuation

• OpenAI seeks $100+ billion valuation, rivaling SpaceX.
• OpenAI explores AI chip venture with G42 against NVIDIA.
• CEO Sam Altman actively seeks capital at $86 billion valuation.

In a move that could potentially elevate OpenAI to the ranks of the world’s most valuable startups, the renowned artificial intelligence (AI) company is reportedly in discussions to raise fresh funding, aiming for a valuation exceeding $100 billion.

This ambitious endeavor places OpenAI in the competitive race for valuation supremacy, trailing closely behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Bloomberg reports that OpenAI, already having secured around $13 billion in funding from Microsoft, is engaged in early-stage talks with potential investors. While specific details such as the terms, valuation, and timing of the funding round are still being negotiated and may undergo changes, the strategic move aligns with OpenAI’s upward growth trajectory spurred by the success of ChatGPT.

The AI boom, catalyzed by innovations like ChatGPT, has not only fueled a technological revolution but has also driven over-the-top valuations for companies in the tech industry. OpenAI’s potential valuation would place it among the elite startups, with the report drawing parallels to NVIDIA, which recently joined the exclusive club of companies valued at over $1 trillion.

In a separate development, OpenAI is reportedly exploring a funding partnership with G42, an AI development company based in Abu Dhabi. The discussions involve raising funds, ranging between $8 billion to $10 billion, for a project named Tigris. The venture aims to develop semiconductors to compete with industry leader NVIDIA in the fiercely competitive AI chip market.

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, actively spearheads the capital-seeking initiatives, including the chipmaking endeavor. The funding discussions come in the wake of recent leadership changes at OpenAI, with Altman temporarily removed from his position, leading to initial uncertainty about the company’s future.

Scheduled for early January, OpenAI is reportedly concluding a separate tender offer, allowing employees to offload their shares at an impressive valuation of $86 billion. The offer, led by Thrive Capital, has garnered significant investor demand, surpassing the available shares.

Altman, seeking input from the community, recently asked his followers about their expectations from OpenAI in 2024. Responses included anticipations for artificial general intelligence (AGI), GPT-5, enhanced personalization, improved reasoning, and more advanced iterations of GPT models.

While the specific plans for the potential funds raised at a $100 billion valuation remain unclear, OpenAI’s strategic moves indicate an intensifying competition in the AI race, with 2023 being hailed as a year of groundbreaking advances. The race for valuation supremacy between OpenAI and SpaceX adds a new dimension to the evolving landscape of high-stakes technology ventures.

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