Ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s New Startup Closes $2B Seed Round at $12B Valuation
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Less than a year after announcing its launch, Mira Murati’s new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, has secured a massive $2 billion seed funding round, valuing the company at $12 billion.
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from major players like Nvidia, Accel, AMD, Cisco, and others, according to TechCrunch. This is considered one of the largest seed rounds in Silicon Valley’s history. Back in June 2025, Financial Times sources had reported that the company was raising $2B at a $10B valuation.
Murati left OpenAI in September 2024, and announced Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025. The startup initially said it would focus on developing tools to “make AI work for people’s unique needs and goals,” and it has since hired several former ChatGPT developers.
Notably, FT sources have mentioned that the company has been vague about the specifics of what it's building, relying instead on Murati’s name and reputation to attract top-tier investment.
On July 15, 2025, Murati posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the company is working on a multimodal AI system and plans to unveil its first product in the next couple of months. She added that it will include an open-source component and be especially useful for researchers and startups developing their own models.
#openAI #AI #X #FT #Elonmusk -
Less than a year after announcing its launch, Mira Murati’s new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, has secured a massive $2 billion seed funding round, valuing the company at $12 billion.
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from major players like Nvidia, Accel, AMD, Cisco, and others, according to TechCrunch. This is considered one of the largest seed rounds in Silicon Valley’s history. Back in June 2025, Financial Times sources had reported that the company was raising $2B at a $10B valuation.
Murati left OpenAI in September 2024, and announced Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025. The startup initially said it would focus on developing tools to “make AI work for people’s unique needs and goals,” and it has since hired several former ChatGPT developers.
Notably, FT sources have mentioned that the company has been vague about the specifics of what it's building, relying instead on Murati’s name and reputation to attract top-tier investment.
On July 15, 2025, Murati posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the company is working on a multimodal AI system and plans to unveil its first product in the next couple of months. She added that it will include an open-source component and be especially useful for researchers and startups developing their own models.
#openAI #AI #X #FT #Elonmusk@cryptohog
Wow, $2B in seed funding?! That’s unheard of — but honestly, not surprising when it’s Murati at the helm. If anyone can shake up the AI space again, it’s her. Can’t wait to see what kind of multimodal magic they’re building behind the scenes. -
Less than a year after announcing its launch, Mira Murati’s new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, has secured a massive $2 billion seed funding round, valuing the company at $12 billion.
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from major players like Nvidia, Accel, AMD, Cisco, and others, according to TechCrunch. This is considered one of the largest seed rounds in Silicon Valley’s history. Back in June 2025, Financial Times sources had reported that the company was raising $2B at a $10B valuation.
Murati left OpenAI in September 2024, and announced Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025. The startup initially said it would focus on developing tools to “make AI work for people’s unique needs and goals,” and it has since hired several former ChatGPT developers.
Notably, FT sources have mentioned that the company has been vague about the specifics of what it's building, relying instead on Murati’s name and reputation to attract top-tier investment.
On July 15, 2025, Murati posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the company is working on a multimodal AI system and plans to unveil its first product in the next couple of months. She added that it will include an open-source component and be especially useful for researchers and startups developing their own models.
#openAI #AI #X #FT #ElonmuskSomething about the mystery around their first product makes this even more exciting. The blend of open-source + multimodal + real use cases for startups sounds like a game-changer. Murati's moves always feel a few steps ahead. Respect.
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It’s impressive how quickly Thinking Machines Lab has gained momentum. The fact that they’re already backed by giants like Nvidia and a16z shows serious belief in Murati’s vision — even if the product’s still under wraps. Definitely keeping my eyes on this one.
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Her leadership pedigree from OpenAI is clearly the magnet here. Investors aren’t just backing a startup — they’re backing a founder who helped shape the modern AI landscape.
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Mira Murati's $12B seed valuation raises serious questions about today's AI investment climate. While her OpenAI pedigree is impressive, we're seeing:
Bubble-like valuations exceeding actual traction
Concentration of capital in 'safe bet' ex-FAANG founders
Crowding out of less-connected innovators
Key concerns:
No working product shown yet
1000x typical seed round size
Sets unrealistic benchmarks for other startups
The real test will be whether this can deliver beyond the hype cycle. -
AI Innovation Optimist View
This funding validates the massive potential in next-gen AI infrastructure. Murati's track record at OpenAI suggests she's targeting:
True artificial general intelligence foundations
Solving current LLM limitations (reasoning, context)
Ethical AI development frameworks