SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, is in early talks to raise a major new funding round that could value the company at about $50 billion, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The potential valuation marks a dramatic rise for the young company. Thinking Machines was valued at $12 billion in July, when it raised $2 billion in one of the largest seed rounds ever. The new talks would more than quadruple that figure in just a few months. Some sources say the valuation could climb even higher, possibly reaching $55 billion or even $60 billion. The negotiations are still underway, and the terms could change. The company declined to comment.
Murati launched Thinking Machines in February with a bold vision: to build advanced AI models and tools that improve “human-AI collaboration” across industries. She drew on her experience leading technology at OpenAI, where she also served briefly as interim CEO after Sam Altman’s ouster. She left the company late last year after a period of internal turmoil.
Her new startup quickly attracted top talent. Murati hired dozens of former OpenAI employees, including John Schulman, one of OpenAI’s co-founders, and Barret Zoph, the company’s former vice president of research. Their arrival gave Thinking Machines credibility and momentum in a crowded AI field.
In the summer, the company released its first major product, Tinker, a tool that helps users customize or fine-tune large language models. The product aims to make advanced AI more accessible by simplifying a process that often requires specialized expertise.
Tinker has earned positive reviews from early testers. Research groups at Princeton University and Stanford University are using the tool, and the company has already secured paying business customers, according to people familiar with internal operations. The steady early adoption helped fuel investor interest in the new fundraising round.
Thinking Machines is growing quickly, but it also faces fierce competition for top researchers. Tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft are offering large compensation packages to secure AI experts. Last month, the company lost one of its co-founders, Andrew Tulloch, who left to join Meta Platforms Inc. This competition highlights a broader struggle across the AI sector. As companies race to build more powerful models, the demand for skilled researchers has soared, driving up salaries and accelerating recruiting battles.
Murati is not the only former OpenAI leader to attract strong funding. Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s former chief scientist, launched Safe Superintelligence Inc., which now holds a valuation of $32 billion. Liam Fedus, another OpenAI veteran, founded Periodic Labs, valued at $1.3 billion. These startups reflect a growing trend: investors are pouring money into founders with deep experience in cutting-edge AI work, even when their companies are only months old.
