San Francisco, California – Former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati has officially launched her new startup, Thinking Machine Labs, with the ambitious goal of raising $1 billion at a $9 billion valuation, sources have revealed. The fundraising round is currently underway, with no confirmation on final details yet. Investors are showing significant interest in the startup, given the reputation of AI startups founded by former OpenAI employees.
Murati’s tenure at OpenAI, where she played a key role in developing ChatGPT and other AI projects, drew attention to her entrepreneurial endeavors after her departure last year. Following a brief stint as interim CEO at OpenAI in a tumultuous period for the company, Murati’s move into the startup world has been highly anticipated in Silicon Valley circles. Her vision for Thinking Machine Labs is to enhance accessibility and customization in AI systems, a goal she outlined in a recent blog post.
With a team composed of former colleagues from OpenAI and other tech giants like Meta and Anthropic, Murati is assembling a powerhouse of talent at Thinking Machine Labs. Notable figures from OpenAI, including John Schulman, Jonathan Lachman, Barret Zoph, and Alexander Kirillov, are onboard to drive innovation and research efforts at the startup. This trend of former OpenAI executives venturing into entrepreneurship is also observed with figures like Ilya Sutskever and the Amodei siblings, who have launched their own AI-focused companies after exiting the organization.
The $9 billion valuation for a startup less than a year old is indeed headline-grabbing, but it reflects the industry’s appetite for cutting-edge AI technologies and solutions. Murati’s track record and the caliber of her team at Thinking Machine Labs have instilled confidence in investors, fueling optimism for the startup’s future success. As the fundraising round progresses and the startup gains momentum in the AI landscape, industry watchers are keenly observing how Murati’s vision for making AI more widely understood and adaptable will shape Thinking Machine Labs’ trajectory in the market.