Thinking Machines Seeks to Raise $1 Billion at a $40 Billion Valuation

Competition in the AI market appears to still be attracting massive investments despite a slowdown in some valuations. Recent reports have revealed that the startup «Thinking Machines» is in talks to raise a new $1 billion at a valuation of no less than $40 billion, a move that reflects the continued heavy bet on talent that has left major companies to launch their own ventures.

Who Is Thinking Machines?

This lab was founded early last year by Mira Murati, the former Chief Technology Officer of «OpenAI». The company initially built its reputation on the extensive expertise of its founder and a group of researchers who moved with her from OpenAI, which made it a focus of investors' attention from its very first day.

According to circulating reports, the «Accel» fund, one of the company's current backers, is leading the ongoing talks to complete this new funding round, with other investors set to join should it be finalized.

A Valuation Lower Than Previous Ambitions

What's notable about this round is that the proposed valuation, at around $40 billion, comes in below the figure the company sought to reach late last year, when it was targeting a valuation of $50 billion. Despite this relative decline in the target ceiling, the figure remains exceptionally high.

This becomes clear when comparing the valuation to revenue; sources familiar with the company's financials indicate that its annual revenue rate exceeds only $100 million. Based on this figure, a valuation of $40 billion implies an enormous revenue multiple, which reflects the scale of expectations pinned on the company's future rather than its current reality.

Revenue Source and Business Model

Last July, the company launched an open-weight model called «Inkling», which generates revenue by charging for compute usage. This model, available through the «Tinker» platform, allows AI models to be adapted to each client's specific data, in exchange for fees calculated based on consumption volume.

A Record Funding History

This isn't the first time the company has achieved staggering figures in its funding rounds; in its previous round, it raised around $2 billion, making it one of the largest seed rounds in history. The company was then valued at around $12 billion, and that round was led by the «Andreessen Horowitz» fund, with the participation of a number of prominent names, including:

• The chip-making giant «Nvidia».
• Google's investment arm «GV».
• The «Lightspeed» fund.
• «Conviction Partners».

Challenges and Internal Shifts

The company's path has not been free of obstacles, as it recently witnessed the departure of several prominent figures, including some co-founders such as Lilian Weng and Luke Metz, both of whom returned to work at «OpenAI». These successive departures raise questions about the company's ability to retain its talent amid fierce competition for skilled professionals in this sector.

The talks remain in their early stages, and neither of the companies involved has issued an official comment so far. However, the mere fact that such figures are being floated reflects the scale of continued investor enthusiasm toward ambitious AI ventures, even as a large gap persists between high valuations and actual real-world revenue.

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