Mira Murati's AI Startup Thinking Machines Hits $12 Billion Valuation in Early Funding

Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by Mira Murati, has secured a massive $2 billion in funding. This investment, one of the largest early-stage fundings in AI history, elevates the company's valuation to $12 billion. The announcement came just five months after the company's inception in February. Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round, with contributions from tech giants like Nvidia, AMD, Cisco, Accel, ServiceNow and Jane Street.

Murati's venture aims to advance collaborative general intelligence by creating multimodal AI systems. These systems are designed to interact naturally with humans through conversation and sight. "We're excited that in the next couple months we'll be able to share our first product, which will include a significant open source component and be useful for researchers and startups developing custom models. Soon, we'll also share our best science to help the research community better understand frontier AI systems," Murati posted on X.

AI Investment Surge

The substantial investment highlights investors' keen interest in AI ventures led by former OpenAI talent. Despite not yet releasing a product or generating revenue, Thinking Machines Lab's team is composed largely of ex-OpenAI employees. Approximately two-thirds of its founding members previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Mira Murati departed from OpenAI unexpectedly in September 2024 and now joins other former executives launching high-profile AI firms. Dario Amodei's Anthropic and Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence have similarly attracted significant capital and ex-OpenAI talent.

Focus on Safer AI Systems

Thinking Machines Lab is committed to building safer and more reliable AI systems for broader applications than current offerings. The upcoming product is expected to embody these priorities with open-source accessibility for developers and researchers.

Investor confidence in artificial intelligence remains robust despite scrutiny over tech industry spending. A recent Pitchbook report revealed that US startup funding surged nearly 76 percent to $162.8 billion in the first half of 2025. Notably, AI companies accounted for over 64 percent of this total deal value.

The enthusiasm for AI ventures continues unabated as companies like Thinking Machines Lab push forward with innovative solutions aimed at empowering humanity through advanced technology.