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The artificial intelligence hype train continues to steam down the tracks, as Bloomberg reported that the largest venture capital fundraising round of all time—for none other than OpenAI—is on the verge of completion.
The $6.5 billion funding round values OpenAI at $150 billion, up from $86 billion in an earlier round, according to Bloomberg, which added that the current round is oversubscribed, meaning that potential investors were willing to pony up more than the $6.5 billion total.
Axios pointed out that this OpenAI funding round will top the previous high, which was set by another AI firm, xAI, led by Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk.
For context, the $6.5 billion matches the total amount raised by all startups in New York, Texas, and Florida combined in 2014, according to Axios, while the company’s $150 billion valuation equals the total under management by the entire U.S. venture capital market in 1999, during the internet bubble.
Who’s in?
Entry doesn’t come cheap, as The Information reported that the minimum investment to take part in the round is $250 million.
The investment round is being led by Thrive Capital, which chipped in $1.25 billion, according to Bloomberg, with other likely participants including Apple, Microsoft (OpenAI’s biggest backer), and Nvidia.
At least one previous OpenAI investor is out, as Bloomberg reported that Sequoia Capital is throwing its funding behind Safe Superintelligence, a startup founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who left OpenAI in May.
Media ups and downs
OpenAI has been in the news quite a bit this year, with much of it involving its relationships, good and bad, with media companies.