Mira Murati’s AI Startup Nets $2B Seed at $12B Valuation
Mira Murati’s AI Startup Nets $2B Seed at $12B Valuation
Thinking Machines Lab, founded by ex-OpenAI exec Mira Murati, raises $2B at a $12B valuation. Investors include Nvidia and Andreessen Horowitz. Find out more!
The artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, announced on Tuesday that it has raised approximately $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation in a funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. According to the startup, AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.O), Accel, ServiceNow (NOW.N), Cisco (CSCO.O), AMD (AMD.O), and Jane Street also participated in the fundraising.
In an industry where top executives have become sought-after targets in an intensifying talent war, Murati's ability to draw investors is demonstrated by the sizeable funding round for a company that was only founded in February and has no revenue or products to date.
CEO Murati posted on the X social media platform, saying,
"We're excited that in the next couple months we will be able to share our first product, which will include a significant open source component and be useful for researchers and startups developing custom model."
According to Thinking Machines, it aims to develop artificial intelligence systems that are more dependable, safer, and targeted at a wider range of applications than its competitors. At launch, nearly two-thirds of its team was made up of former OpenAI workers.
After leaving OpenAI abruptly in September of last year, Murati founded Thinking Machines. She is one of many former executives from the ChatGPT manufacturer who have founded AI startups.
Two more have drawn former OpenAI researchers and raised billions of dollars in funding: Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence and Dario Amodei's Anthropic. Despite some concerns about spending by the tech sector, investor interest in new AI startups has remained high.
According to a Pitchbook report, which contributed to a nearly 76% increase in U.S. startup funding to $162.8 billion in the first half of 2025 🔗, with AI making up roughly 64.1% of the deal value.
Despite not having a product launch, Mira Murati's AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, received attention due to its substantial $2 billion seed round and $12 billion valuation. With an outstanding team and leading investors, the startup has a lot of potential. However, there are significant risks associated with high expectations. As the business attempts to establish its value in a crowded AI market, the upcoming months will be critical.
