Mira Murati is storming Silicon Valley. The former chief technology officer and interim CEO of OpenAI has started a new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, and she’s not playing small. Business Insider and TechCrunch reports say Murati is now seeking to raise over $2 billion in seed capital, twice as much as she originally set out to, at a valuation of over $10 billion.
This fervent fundraising round indicates how eagerly investors are seeking to finance generative AI companies, especially if they’re headed by experienced players in the sector like Murati.
Murati’s AI Startup Attracts Massive Funding Despite No Product
Following close to seven years at OpenAI, during which she contributed significantly to the creation of pioneering technologies such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and GPT-4, Murati departed the firm in September 2024. She began Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025 with a clear mission: to create AI systems that are “more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable.”
What is surprising about this funding spree is that Thinking Machines Lab has yet to ship a commercial product or earn revenue. That has not stopped the company from bringing in the industry’s best talent, however. Murati has put together a solid roster of former OpenAI executives, including Bob McGrew (former chief research officer), Alec Radford (architect of the GPT model), and John Schulman (co-creator of ChatGPT).
“This is probably the most talented AI team apart from DeepMind,” said one investor, likening the talent pool to that of OpenAI’s startup days.
Why would people invest $2 billion in a startup that hasn’t shipped a product yet? Three things seem to be driving this record-setting interest.
First, investors have deep confidence in Murati’s experience. Her leadership in OpenAI’s ascent to AI behemoth status has made her one of the top leaders in the industry. Second, there is an acute lack of top-notch AI talent. Murati has been able to poach over 30 researchers from top organizations such as OpenAI, Meta, and Google DeepMind—a talent coup that only a handful can achieve in today’s competitive landscape.
Third, creating cutting-edge AI models is very expensive. It has grown increasingly expensive to train advanced machines and retain AI talent, which requires massive rounds of capital from the very start.
The influx of investment—from $1 billion initial at a $9 billion valuation in March to over $2 billion now.—is the model for other AI initiatives, such as Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence, which raised $1 billion this spring. But if Thinking Machines’ round materializes, it will set a new benchmark for seed-stage investment in AI initiatives.
Besides former OpenAI executives, Murati has also recruited other significant minds like former special projects director Jonathan Lachman, co-developer Barret Zoph of ChatGPT, and voice mode creator Alexander Kirillov. Hiring such advisors as Radford, co-author of the seminal GPT research report, brings additional technical weight to the company.
Thinking Machines: Murati’s $2 Billion Bet on AI’s Future
While the hype is real, Murati’s venture has some significant obstacles to overcome. The fundraising campaign comes at a time when controversy is building around AI profitability and safety. While Murati has been transparent about her support for regulation throughout her time at OpenAI, she has yet to outline how Thinking Machines will approach ethics or monetize its technology.
Detractors argue that eye-watering valuations for AI pre-revenue labs threaten to create a bubble. Others, though, think that Murati’s emphasis on “human-AI collaboration” can set new standards for the sector.
If Murati secures the $2 billion investment, it would significantly accelerate the development of multimodal AI systems with advanced reasoning capabilities. Her dual experience—work at Tesla, where she helped with Autopilot, and at OpenAI leadership—can possibly bridge the distance between research done in academia and use by consumers.
However, with competitors like Anthropic and Google DeepMind advancing rapidly, Thinking Machines must deliver breakthroughs quickly to justify its valuation.
Murati’s new company is more than the latest AI startup. It is a sign of a larger trend in the AI world, where founder credentials and technical know-how now attract record financial investment. With increasing regulatory attention, her skill at navigating innovation and responsibility will not only determine Thinking Machines’ future, but the direction of the entire AI sector.
For Silicon Valley observers, one thing is sure: whatever happens next for Mira Murati will be worth watching.
