Accel Allegedly Negotiating to Head $1B Funding Round for Thinking Machines Valued at $40B
Thinking Machines, an AI laboratory established last year by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, is currently in negotiations to secure $1 billion at a minimum valuation of $40 billion, according to a report from The Information. Accel, one of the company’s existing investors, is reportedly in discussions to lead this fundraising effort.
Should this funding round be successful, it would assign a value to the company that is lower than the $50 billion figure Thinking Machines had aimed for late last year.
The company is believed to be generating an annual revenue rate of over $100 million, making the $40 billion valuation an exceptionally high multiple based on its revenue, as per sources familiar with its financial details.
Accel and Thinking Machines have not yet responded to inquiries for comments.
In July, the company launched Inkling, an open-weight model that earns income by implementing usage-based computing fees for customizing models with proprietary data on its Tinker platform.
Previously, Thinking Machines raised $2 billion in one of the largest seed funding rounds ever, which initially valued the company at $12 billion. This investment was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with support from Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed, and Conviction Partners. Much of the investment interest stemmed from Murati’s expertise and the former OpenAI researchers who joined her team.
However, the startup has witnessed significant turnover, with several co-founders, including Lilian Weng and Luke Metz, returning to OpenAI.
