Mira Murati, OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), is unveiling GPT-4o through a live stream on the 13th (local time). / Courtesy of OpenAI live stream capture

Mira Murati, former chief technology officer (CTO) of OpenAI, founded the artificial intelligence (AI) startup 'Thinking Machines Lab (TML)' and secured approximately $2 billion (about 2.7 trillion won) in investments. The company's valuation was reported to be $10 billion before the investment.

On the 24th, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Thinking Machines Lab raised $2 billion in a funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The funding round also included participation from Accel and Conviction Partners.

This capital raising corresponds to a seed round but is regarded as an unprecedentedly large investment for Silicon Valley. A seed investment refers to early-stage funding when product development is either incomplete or still undisclosed. Bloomberg noted that this is the largest scale in Silicon Valley's history for a seed investment, surpassing the total investment amount usually garnered over the lifetime of a typical startup.

Thinking Machines Lab has stated its vision to develop customized AI that maximizes corporations' revenue, but it has not yet disclosed specific products or services. In a blog post last February, the company said, "We will develop models and products that enhance collaboration between AI and humans."

Murati, who joined OpenAI in 2018, was deeply involved in developing ChatGPT and is also known as the "mother of ChatGPT." She served as acting CEO when Sam Altman, the chief executive officer (CEO) of OpenAI, was ousted by the board in November 2023. After Altman's return, she left OpenAI to establish Thinking Machines Lab.

Thinking Machines Lab has attracted former OpenAI co-founder John Schulman and former Vice President Barrett Zoff.