Thinking Machines Raises $2B at $12B Valuation to Build Collaborative General Intelligence
In one of the most striking early-stage fundraises of the year, Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has secured $2 billion in funding at a $12 billion valuation, as first reported by Reuters. A staggering milestone for a company launched just five months ago.
The funding round, led by Andreessen Horowitz, drew a formidable lineup of strategic investors including NVIDIA, Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, AMD, and Jane Street, signaling both the depth of investor confidence and the gravity of Murati’s vision. While the company has yet to release a product or generate revenue, it already commands a valuation that rivals some late-stage tech firms—an indication of just how hot the generative AI sector remains.
A New Chapter After OpenAI
Murati’s move to found Thinking Machines came on the heels of her departure from OpenAI in September 2024. Her exit marked a major turning point in the ongoing reshuffling of AI talent, with a wave of ex-OpenAI researchers branching out to form their own ventures. Nearly two-thirds of Thinking Machines’ founding team reportedly came from OpenAI, adding to a growing brain drain that’s also fueled the rise of Anthropic (founded by Dario Amodei) and Safe Superintelligence (by Ilya Sutskever).
But Murati is carving out her own path. At the heart of Thinking Machines is an ambitious mission: to advance collaborative general intelligence; AI that understands and interacts with the world as people do, not just through text, but through multimodal inputs like vision, voice, and real-time collaboration.
Not Just Smarter, but More Human
According to public statements, Thinking Machines wants to build AI that aligns with how humans naturally think and work together, emphasizing interaction "through conversation, through sight, through the messy way we collaborate."
The startup's first product, expected within the next few months, will include a significant open-source component, aiming to support researchers and startups building custom AI models. Additionally, the team promises to release insights from its frontier AI research to further support the broader research community.
Why Investors Are Betting Big
This $2 billion raise is emblematic of broader trends in AI investment. Despite market jitters and broader tech pullbacks, investor enthusiasm for early-stage AI remains white-hot. According to Pitchbook, AI startups accounted for over 64% of total U.S. deal value in the first half of 2025, with total startup funding rising nearly 76% year-over-year to $162.8 billion.
Part of what sets Thinking Machines apart is its philosophical approach. “We believe AI should serve as an extension of individual agency,” Mira stated in an X post, “and in the spirit of freedom, be distributed as widely and equitably as possible.” It’s a message that clearly resonates with backers eager to support both cutting-edge science and a broader vision for AI’s role in society.
What Comes Next
While details on the company’s core technology remain under wraps, the promise of an open-source-first product, paired with a heavy concentration of talent and capital, makes Thinking Machines one of the most closely watched players in the next wave of AI development.
As the arms race to develop general-purpose AI continues, all eyes will be on Mira Murati and her team to see whether Thinking Machines can not only match the capabilities of industry giants, but redefine what AI can be.
Source: Reuters article on funding round
Source: Mira Mirati X post
