AI startup OpenAI announced the closing of a funding round totaling $122 billion, with a valuation of $852 billion.
“OpenAI is becoming the foundational infrastructure for artificial intelligence, enabling people and businesses worldwide to create new solutions. The broad user base of ChatGPT forms a powerful distribution channel,” the company stated in its blog.
According to platform representatives, it is experiencing record growth. The number of weekly active users has consistently reached milestones of 10 million, 100 million, and is soon expected to approach 1 billion.
Within a year of launching ChatGPT, the startup generated $1 billion in revenue. By the end of 2024, it was projected to generate $1 billion quarterly, and is currently generating $2 billion monthly.
“We are growing four times faster than companies that defined the eras of the internet and mobile technology, including Alphabet and Meta,” OpenAI noted.
The funds raised will be used to scale the business. The round was led by strategic partners Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, with participation from Microsoft. Other participants included a16z, D. E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, and funds managed by T. Rowe Price Associates.
Additional participants included Altimeter, Appaloosa LP, ARK Invest, funds from BlackRock and Blackstone, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, Dragoneer, Fidelity, Goanna Capital, Insight Partners, The Paragon Group, Sands Capital, Sequoia Capital, Sound Ventures, Temasek, Thrive Capital, UC Investments, and Winslow Capital.
The company has opened access for private investors through banking channels, raising an additional $3 billion. In the future, OpenAI shares will be included in several ETFs from ARK Invest.
Additionally, the startup has expanded its credit line to $4.7 billion, provided by a consortium of major banks, including JPMorgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Mizuho, Royal Bank of Canada, SMBC, UBS, HSBC, and Santander.
Computing as an Advantage
The company identified computing as a strategic advantage, underpinning all AI: research, models, products, and revenue. Since the launch of ChatGPT, the company’s available resources have grown in tandem with its revenue.
The development of infrastructure allows for training more advanced models. At the same time, algorithms and hardware reduce the cost of data processing, making each generated token cheaper.
“A cumulative effect arises — better infrastructure lowers costs, while improved products increase revenue per unit of computation,” the blog stated.
Over the past 15 months, the firm has significantly expanded its infrastructure strategy. Nvidia remains its foundation, with additional solutions from Microsoft, Oracle, AWS, CoreWeave, Google Cloud, AMD, Trainium, Cerebras, Broadcom, SBE, and SoftBank being integrated.
A Unified Ecosystem
OpenAI announced the creation of a single “AI super app”.
“Users need not a set of disparate tools, but a unified system that understands intentions and executes tasks,” the startup emphasized.
The universal app will combine the functionalities of ChatGPT, Codex, a browser, and AI agents.
As a reminder, in March, OpenAI announced the closure of the Sora app.