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ChatGPT owner OpenAI valued at whopping $157B — asks investors not to fund Elon Musk’s upstart rival xAI

Sam Altman’s OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in a new 𒁃fundraising round that nearly doubled its valuation to $157 billion – and has reportedly asked participants not to give money to rivals like Elon Musk’s xAI as competition in the sector heats up.

The massive round was led by venture capitalist Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, which contribꦚuted a total of $1.2 billion through its own investment and a separate entity for smaller investors, sources familiar with the deal .

“The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue buildingꦉ tools that help people solve hard problems,” OpenAI said in a bl🧸og post on Wednesday.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion from investors, making it one of the most valuable private companies. Getty Images

Longtime backer Microsoft also participated in the round alongside AI chip supplier Nvidia, Khosla Ventures, SoftBank, Abu Dhabi’s state-backed MGX fund, Altimeter Capital and Fidelity.

T🐓hrive also secured the𝐆 exclusive right to invest another $1 billion at the same valuation next year if OpenAI hits a revenue target.

In a unique twist, OpenAI told p🌼articipants that they expected any contributions to be exclusive – meaning they should av🦩oid investing in competitors like xAI and Anthropic, .

The request is considered unusual in Silicon Valley circles, where venture capital firms pour money into multiple firms within the same sector to maximize their chances of earning a windf𝓀al⛦l.

“Because the round was so oversubscribed, OpenAI said to people: ‘We’ll give you allocation but we want you to be involved in a meaningful way in the business so you can’t commit to our competitors,” a source with knowledge of the deal told the FT.

The funding has attracted returning venture capital investors including Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, as well as OpenAI’s biggest corporate backer Microsoft, and new participation from Nvidia. AP

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but exited after a disagreement over its direction. He is currently suing OpenAI and has accused Altman and his allies of having “intentionally courted and deceived” him into contributing more than $44 million 💎in its early years.

OpenAI’s financing round hinges on a plann༒ed restr𓆉ucturing that would shift control of the company from its nonprofit board of directors to a for-profit entity – with Altman set to receive an unspecified equity stake.

Investors can reportedly renegotiateꦏ OpenAI’s valuation – or receive their money back entirely – if the restructuring isn’t complete within two years, according to Reuters. Internal talks regarding the 🔴restructuring are said to be ongoing and no timeline has been set for the change.

Elon Musk, who launched competitor xAI, co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but exited after a disagreement over its direction. He is currently suing OpenAI. ZUMAPRESS.com

Less than one year ago, OpenAI closed a round that valued th🔥e firm at $87 billi𒀰on.

The ChatGPT maker is set to earn about $3.6 billion in revenue this year against losses of more than🐼 $5 billion. Revenue is reportedly projected to spike to $11.6 billion in 2025.

The latest round closed e𓆉ven as OpenAI navigates ongoi🃏ng turmoil in its executive ranks.

Chief technology officer Mira Mu﷽rati and two other top executives announced their resignations last week just as the first reports about a potential restructuring surfaced.

During an all🅘-hands meeting last Thursday, Altman was reportedly adamant 🃏that the abrupt departures were not related to the board’s discussions.

Chief technology officer Mira Murati and two other top executives announced their resignations last week. AFP via Getty Images

Altman also pushed back on a report that he was set to receive a 7% stake in O▨penAI that could be worth so꧂me $10.5 billion – calling it “ludicrous,” according to The Information.

Elsewhere, Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and co-founder, sai🎐d last month that he would take an ext🅰ended leave of absence through the end of the year, while another🅠 co-founder John Schulman left for job at OpenAI rival Anthrꦺopic.

In May, co-founder Ilya Sutskever and researcher Jan Leike quit after OpenAI dissolved its “Superalignment” team, which was responsible fo๊r overseeing ♛the safe development of advanced AI.

So🌱me current and former OpenAI employees have expressed concern that Altman and his allies are prioritizing rapid advancements in AI over safety.

With Post wires