OpenAI is targeting to raise at least $5 billion from investors including Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and Thrive Capita, in a funding round that could nearly double the AI startup’s valuation to $150 billion, according to the FT.

The San Francisco-based group has been in discussions with investors in recent weeks about a new round of funding, to support its plans to develop AI models capable of outperforming human intelligence and giving it an edge over competitors including Anthropic, Google and Meta.

According to the terms of the deal, seen by the Financial Times, the company is targeting a valuation of $150 billion, a big jump from the $86 billion it was valued at earlier this year, and is seeking at least $5 billion in new funding.

The final amount of financing could exceed $6.5 billion, according to one investor who submitted a bid for the deal.

Thrive, a venture capital firm founded by Josh Kushner, is leading the round and is expected to invest $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The total size of the funding round could change as potential backers including Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft discuss the size and nature of their involvement with OpenAI.

The startup has expanded rapidly since launching its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, with revenue hitting $2 billion year-over-year at the start of the year, according to people familiar with the matter. But OpenAI remains a loss-maker as the cost of developing sophisticated AI models skyrockets and it faces increasing competition from rivals.