Kelvin Mu’s Post

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, just secured $6.6 billion in its latest funding round, bringing its valuation to $157 billion. Backed by major players like Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, and Thrive Capital, OpenAI continues to redefine the frontier of artificial intelligence, positioning itself among the most valuable start-ups globally—on par with Goldman Sachs. With 250 million weekly active users and over a million paying business customers, OpenAI is proving its massive impact on the AI landscape. As the company shapes the future of technology, it’s clear that AI’s influence is only growing stronger. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ehYdMkSp #AI #Innovation #TechLeadership #OpenAI #ArtificialIntelligence #TechTransformation

What Does #OpenAI’s $6.6 Billion Funding Mean for the Future of AI? 🤔 With OpenAI securing a whopping $6.6 billion in funding and achieving a valuation of $157 billion, the landscape of artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly.... This investment reflects not only the soaring popularity of tools like #ChatGPT, which boasts 250 million weekly users, but also the high expectations for AI's potential impact on industries worldwide. As OpenAI prepares for a transition to a for-profit model amid significant leadership changes, points to ponder: How will this shift influence innovation and impact competition in the AI sector? The future of AI is unfolding and continues to evolve—your thoughts on the future? #OpenAI #AI

One month into my role at Business Insider, now feels like a good time to share a snapshot of some of the great stories the UK tech, VC and startups team has produced. Hasan Chowdhury has been writing analysis on the likes of Nvidia, Intel, and Huawei — plus an excellent long read on a new book about SoftBank's Masayoshi Son: ➡️ Intel matters to US chipmaking. Its tangled relationship with China makes things complicated. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eQnZTBj5 ➡️ Masayoshi Son is the $100 billion gambler who went from dirt track to tech titan — and he isn't done betting yet 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eidAMJgX ——— Jyoti Mann has covered everything from Elon Musk to Big Tech's return-to-office policies, including a fantastic interview with an Amazon employee that really resonated with readers: ➡️ I work at Amazon, and I plan on 'coffee badging' instead of working from the office 5 days a week 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e_5z2mT2 ➡️ Elon Musk's Texas school opening is delayed after Ad Astra postponed an inspection for a second time 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ePD2iQHj ——— AI is continuing to raise questions about art, academia and plagiarism. Beatrice Nolan has brilliantly reported on stories at the intersection of those themes. ➡️ An author is facing backlash for using AI to write 120 books. He says he's misunderstood. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eNjyv4hX ➡️ AI plagiarism is spreading in US colleges. It's left professors feeling confused and exhausted. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/etss3AHQ ——— From the startup and VC world, Riddhi Kanetkar has been reporting on OpenAI — including a superb first-person account watching Sam Altman speak in the aftermath of an exec exodus — and down round trends: ➡️ I watched Sam Altman discuss the future of AI. His captivated audience seemed unfazed by OpenAI's chaos. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eu96cCHs ➡️ AI startups should brace for a wave of down rounds, investors say. Here's how it might play out. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e-g4mVyA Lots coming up as we enter Q4. If you work in the tech and startup world, let us know what themes and stories are on your radar. 👀 #tech #AI #OpenAI #Nvidia #startups #journalism

SoftBank is reportedly eyeing a massive investment in AI startup OpenAI, potentially up to $25 billion. This prospective investment is part of a broader collaboration, dubbed Project Stargate, between the two tech giants. Located in Texas, this initiative plans to deploy $100 billion in the development of data centers and AI infrastructure, with aspirations of committing $500 billion over the next four years. At the helm of this ambitious project are SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, both of whom share a mutual passion for pushing the boundaries of AI technology. This collaboration is drawing significant attention as it signals the immense growth and opportunities within the AI sector—a trend supported by data insights from the IndexBox platform. SoftBank's potential investment, which could range from $15 billion to $25 billion, is in addition to the $15 billion already committed to Project Stargate. This strategic move comes amidst a backdrop of explosive growth within global AI markets, indicating shifting priorities towards cutting-edge technologies and their applications across diverse industries. However, not everyone is sold on the ambitious goals set by Project Stargate. Critics, including Elon Musk—who has had collaborative history with OpenAI—have expressed skepticism concerning the project's financial transparency and its overall feasibility. Musk has raised concerns about whether the key players involved, initially announced during a notable announcement in Donald Trump's presidency, can fulfill their ambitious commitments. As discussions unfold, the industry keenly watches how this collaboration between SoftBank and OpenAI will reshape the landscape of AI investments and innovations on a global scale. #SoftBank #OpenAI #ArtificialIntelligence https://lnkd.in/dFRMUVwU

We are pleased to announce number 3 on BoardProspects Founder and CEO Mark Rogers' list of the “Top 10 Board Appointments of 2024 (so far).” Amazon – Appointment of Andrew Ng Artificial Intelligence (AI) is perhaps the biggest topic in today’s corporate world in terms of its implications for innovation, growth, and efficiencies. The biggest names in technology – Apple, Meta, Google, and Microsoft are spending billions on research and development to bring AI products to the market. Surprisingly, Amazon was late to the game and is now playing a bit of catch-up. To hasten its progress, Amazon went out and brought to its board one of the world’s leading minds in AI. Andrew Ng is the Managing General Partner of AI Fund, a venture studio that supports entrepreneurs to build AI companies. Ng was the Founding Lead of Google’s Google Brain (Deep Learning) Project and has written extensively on the topic of machine learning. Amazon still has a ways to go to bridge the AI distance with its competitors, but Ng should help close that distance. The complete list of the “Top 10 Board Appointments of 2024 (so far)” will be shared in the upcoming issue of Board Recruitment. Subscribe here for the complete list: https://lnkd.in/eu3Gyjf7

(Data Breach Today) OpenAI secured $6.6 billion of funding on a $157 million valuation to scale operations and maintain its position at the forefront of artificial intelligence research. ▪️ The largest venture capital round in history will help the San Francisco-based AGI behemoth expand its computational capacity, lead AI research and build tools that solve complex problems. The company said the massive haul will allow OpenAI to scale its AI innovations to a broader audience and support the development of tools designed to tackle complex problems and make advanced AI widely accessible. ▪️ "We aim to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource," OpenAI wrote in a blog post Wednesday. "We’re grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone." ▪️ OpenAI did not disclose the name of the investors, but The Wall Street Journal reported Thrive Capital led the investment with contributions from key players including Microsoft, SoftBank and Nvidia, as well as Khosla Ventures, Fidelity, Altimeter Capital and UAE's MGX. Apple was reportedly in talks to invest in OpenAI but did not move forward, according to The Journal. #OpenAI #ai #funding #valuation #investors #largestfundingroundinhistory https://lnkd.in/ejiYuEDQ

Something interesting is cooking in the world of AI. OpenAI's best brains resigned to form their own venture. But then, what would force these highly talented minds to leave the comfort of a tech giant into uncertainty? Sam Altman's dramatic exit and return to OpenAI was just the beginning. Now, we're seeing a steady stream of top talent leaving to chase their own AI dreams. Andrej Karpathy, one of OpenAI's founding members and a key architect behind GPT, struck out on his own. Just weeks ago, three more researchers - Pavel Izmailov, Fouad Ramadan, and Rapha Gontijo Lopes - left to start Conjecture, their own AI safety company. Think about it. These people have seen the internal machinery of AI in one of the world's leading companies. They have helped make mainstream the commonality of chatbots. They watched venture capital pour into AI in ways that have never been seen before, and now, they use this knowledge to bet on themselves. We have seen this before. Who will forget PayPal? The original team came out of PayPal and eventually created Tesla, LinkedIn, and YouTube. They took what they learned and transformed a few industries. Today, it feels like all this is repeating itself, but this time around with AI at the center. Maybe it's about speed and freedom. You can pivot at a startup, you can take risks, chase wild ideas. Or maybe it's vision. When working on technologies that potentially could change the world, even small differences in approach really matter. So, here's another thought: Is perhaps this "brain drain" only accelerating the innovation? Perhaps OpenAI's greatest contribution is not its technology but the founders that it gives birth to? What would you do with the capabilities of a tech giant and the flexibility of a startup? Let me know in the comments! #OpenAI

OpenAI Secures Record $6.6 Billion Funding Round at $157 Billion Valuation - Leading artificial intelligence research company OpenAI announced this week that it has closed an enormous funding round, raising $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion. This massive injection of capital positions OpenAI as one of the highest valued private companies in the world. The round was led by previous investor Thrive Capital, with Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, Khosla Ventures and others also participating. This brings OpenAI’s total funding to nearly $18 billion since its founding in 2015. OpenAI says the new funds will allow it to expand its AI research, build new tools, and grow its infrastructure to handle increasing […] https://lnkd.in/gZYQptpz #StartupUpdates #StartupNews #EntrepreneurLoop #StartupWorld #EntrepreneurNews

Did you know the most valuable thing OpenAI built wasn’t AI. It was a belief. Convincing investors to back a high-stakes, forward-thinking venture is no small feat—especially when your vision seems more like science fiction. OpenAI’s founders know this challenge all too well. When they launched in 2015, skepticism was everywhere. Few investors grasped the transformative potential of AI as OpenAI saw it. Many dismissed it as a "moonshot" idea with no immediate payoff. But if you study their journey closely, you’ll notice a clear pattern of strategy: - They painted a vivid picture of AI's potential to revolutionize industries like healthcare, education, and energy. - They shifted perceptions by showcasing tangible breakthroughs, proving AI wasn’t just speculative—it was transformative. - Securing backers like Elon Musk early on not only validated their mission but also created a ripple effect of trust and momentum. The result? Over $1 billion raised, making OpenAI a leader in the AI revolution. For founders like you and me, their story is a masterclass: 📌 Stand firm on your vision, your belief is what inspires others. 📌 Turn skepticism into curiosity by demonstrating tangible impact. 📌 Get your first key believers, early support paves the way for broader confidence. So, how are you making your bold ideas impossible to ignore? #AIFunding #VisionaryFounders #StartupJourney #TechLeadership