Mira Murati's new AI lab secures record $2B to challenge industry giants.

In a move that sends shockwaves through the artificial intelligence industry, Mira Murati, the former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, has secured a staggering $2 billion in seed funding for her new venture, Thinking Machines Lab.[1][2][3] The funding round, led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, values the fledgling company at an eye-popping $10 billion, signaling immense investor confidence in Murati's vision and leadership.[4][2] This development places Thinking Machines Lab among the most well-capitalized AI startups in history, poised to become a formidable competitor to established players like its founder's former home, OpenAI, as well as Anthropic and Google DeepMind.[1][5]

Murati's departure from OpenAI in September 2024, where she was instrumental in the development of groundbreaking models like ChatGPT and DALL-E, was a significant event in the AI world.[6][7][8] Her new company, launched in February 2025, has a clear and ambitious goal: to build "collaborative general intelligence."[6][9] According to company statements, the focus is on creating AI systems that are more transparent, customizable, and work in tandem with humans, particularly in complex fields like science and engineering.[4][1] This philosophy of human-AI collaboration, rather than a race toward fully autonomous systems, appears to be a core differentiator for the new lab.[8][10] The company has also structured itself as a public benefit corporation, underscoring a commitment to developing AI that is accessible and beneficial to the public.[11][12]

The massive seed round, one of the largest ever recorded, was reportedly oversubscribed, with investors required to commit at least $50 million to participate.[4][1] The round saw participation from Sarah Guo's Conviction Partners, and notably, AI chip giant Nvidia, as well as Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, AMD, and Jane Street.[4][13] This influx of capital will be directed towards securing the immense computational resources required for building frontier AI models, attracting top-tier talent, and establishing secure research facilities.[14] The sheer size of the investment in a company without a publicly released product or revenue stream highlights the intense investor appetite for potentially foundational AI companies and the high premium placed on proven leadership in the field.[7][5] The government of Albania, Murati's country of origin, also participated with a $10 million investment.[11]

A significant factor behind the massive valuation and investor enthusiasm is the "AI royalty" that Murati has assembled at Thinking Machines Lab.[1] The company has attracted a remarkable concentration of talent, with many key hires coming directly from OpenAI and other leading AI research institutions like Meta, Mistral, and Google.[1][12] The team of roughly 30 researchers and engineers includes prominent figures such as OpenAI co-founder John Schulman, who will serve as Chief Scientist, and former OpenAI VP of research, Barret Zoph, who takes on the role of CTO.[11][12][8] Other notable OpenAI alumni include Jonathan Lachman and Lilian Weng, with influential advisors like Bob McGrew and Alec Radford, who were key to some of OpenAI's early breakthroughs.[4] This exodus of top talent from established labs to Murati's new venture underscores the escalating talent war within the AI sector and the significant draw of her leadership and vision.[8]

While specific details about its first product remain under wraps, Thinking Machines Lab has announced its intention to release it within the next few months.[15][16] The company has indicated it is developing multimodal systems capable of interacting with humans through conversation and sight, suggesting capabilities beyond current text-based models.[1][15] A key part of their strategy includes a significant open-source component, aimed at empowering researchers and other startups to build custom models.[15][16] In line with its public benefit corporation structure, the lab has also pledged a commitment to transparency, planning to regularly publish technical papers, blog posts, and code to foster a broader understanding of how these advanced AI systems are trained and operate.[2][12][10] This approach, focusing on collaborative intelligence and open science, sets a distinct tone in a highly competitive and often secretive industry, positioning Thinking Machines Lab as a major new force with the potential to significantly shape the future of artificial intelligence.