Former OpenAI Executive Mira Maruti’s AI startup Thinking Machines Lab has raised $2B in its latest funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. It took the firm’s valuation to a whopping $12B.
In addition to Andreessen Horowitz, the round saw participation from prominent tech players including Nvidia, Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, AMD, and Jane Street, highlighting broad investor confidence in the company’s ambitions.
The substantial investment in a company launched just this February, despite having no products or revenue, highlights Murati’s significant influence in an AI industry that’s aggressively vying for top talent.
“In the next few months, we look forward to launching our first product, which will include a significant open-source component to help researchers and startups create custom models,” CEO Murati posted on X.
Back in April, Reuters disclosed that Andreessen Horowitz was in talks to lead a substantial early-stage investment round, reflecting strong investor confidence prior to the deal’s completion.
With nearly two-thirds of its initial team from OpenAI, Thinking Machines is building safer, more reliable AI for broader use cases.
Murati, who departed OpenAI suddenly last September, is among a rising number of former ChatGPT executives launching AI startups.
Both Anthropic, founded by Dario Amodei, and Safe Superintelligence, led by Ilya Sutskever, have secured billions and attracted ex-OpenAI researchers.
Investor enthusiasm for new AI startups continues despite worries about tech sector spending.
U.S. startup funding surged nearly 76% to $162.8B in the first half of 2025, with AI representing 64.1% of total deal value, according to Pitchbook.
