On October 2, 2024, OpenAI, the developer of the conversational AI service ChatGPT, announced that it has raised $6.6 billion in funding from investors, bringing its valuation to $157 billion. This positions OpenAI among the top startups globally.
According to U.S. media reports, major investments include approximately $750 million from Microsoft, around $500 million from SoftBank Group, and about $100 million from NVIDIA. Other U.S. investment funds also participated in this funding round.
OpenAI stated, “This funding will allow us to enhance cutting-edge AI research and continue building technology that benefits people.” The user base for ChatGPT exceeds 250 million weekly, with around 11 million paying subscribers.
With this funding, OpenAI's valuation ranks third among private companies globally, following China's ByteDance, which operates TikTok at $225 billion, and U.S. space company SpaceX at $200 billion.
OpenAI aims to transition from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit entity. If it fails to achieve this transition as planned, investors who participated in this funding round may withdraw their investments.