Mira Murati, the former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, has successfully raised a staggering $2 billion in seed funding for her new AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab. This colossal investment values the six-month-old company at an astonishing $10 billion, marking one of the largest seed rounds in Silicon Valley’s history.
Thinking Machines Lab, which emerged from stealth mode in February 2025, has swiftly attracted significant attention due to Murati’s pedigree and the promise of groundbreaking AI advancements. The formidable seed round was led by venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with notable participation from firms like Conviction Partners. The deal quickly surpassed its initial $1 billion funding target, underscoring immense investor confidence in Murati’s vision and leadership.
Mira Murati was a pivotal figure at OpenAI, where she played a critical role in the development and rollout of transformative AI models such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. Her departure from OpenAI in September 2024, amid leadership disputes, paved the way for her new venture. She has since assembled a formidable team, attracting a roster of prominent AI researchers, including several former OpenAI colleagues like co-founder John Schulman.
Despite the massive funding and high-profile team, Thinking Machines Lab has maintained a shroud of secrecy around its specific products or detailed research focus. Its official statement mentions a goal to “advance AI by making it broadly useful and understandable through solid foundations, open science and practical applications.” However, investors privy to Murati’s pitches reportedly received scant details about concrete products or financial plans. Some venture capital firms even passed on the opportunity due to this lack of transparency, a rare occurrence given the scale of the investment.
Analysts suggest that the company is likely working on artificial general intelligence (AGI), the hypothetical point where AI systems match or exceed human cognitive abilities across all domains – a goal shared by industry titans like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google’s DeepMind. The sheer volume of funding at such an early stage, before a public product launch or revenue generation, is a testament to the market’s willingness to bet big on proven AI talent. The deal’s structure also reportedly grants Murati unusual control, with board voting rights outweighing all other directors combined, highlighting the profound trust investors place in her strategic vision.
The emergence of Thinking Machines Lab with such a massive valuation is part of a broader “OpenAI mafia” phenomenon, where alumni from the generative AI pioneer are launching their own highly capitalized startups. This trend is reshaping the competitive landscape of the AI industry, fostering both collaboration and intense competition among former colleagues.
As Thinking Machines Lab navigates the complexities of developing next-generation AI, all eyes will be on Murati and her team to see how they translate this unprecedented financial backing and top-tier talent into disruptive innovation that can justify its ambitious valuation and shape the future of artificial intelligence.
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