GoKawiilOpenAI on Tuesday announced that it closed a record-breaking funding round at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
The round totaled $122 billion of committed capital, up from the $110 billion figure that the company announced in February. SoftBank co-led the round alongside other investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and D. E. Shaw Ventures, OpenAI said.
OpenAI kickstarted the artificial intelligence boom with the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, and the company has since ballooned into one of the fastest-growing commercial entities on the planet. As of March, ChatGPT supports more than 900 million weekly active users, including more than 50 million subscribers.
"AI is driving productivity gains, accelerating scientific discovery, and expanding what people and organizations can build," OpenAI said in a release. "This funding gives us the resources to continue to lead at the scale this moment demands."
With the close of its latest funding round, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be under pressure to justify his company's massive valuation, especially as it gears up for a potential IPO. The startup has been retreating from some hefty spending plans and shuttering certain features and products in recent months, including its short-form video app Sora, as it looks to rein in costs.