Mira Murati, former OpenAI CTO, just pulled off a $2 billion power move—without a single product in the market. Her new AI startup, Thinking Machines, has already hit a jaw-dropping $12 billion valuation.
Key Takeaways:
- $2B Raised — Led by Andreessen Horowitz with Nvidia, Cisco, AMD backing
- $12B Valuation — Achieved just months after launch in February 2025
- Ex-OpenAI Talent — Two-thirds of team are former OpenAI employees
- First Product Coming Soon — With a major open-source component
- AI Funding Surges — U.S. AI deals now dominate 64% of 2025 VC funding
In one of the most high-profile AI funding rounds this year, Thinking Machines, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has secured $2 billion in early-stage funding—before even shipping its first product.
The round, led by Andreessen Horowitz, also saw heavyweight participation from Nvidia, Cisco, AMD, ServiceNow, Accel, and Jane Street, signaling a massive vote of confidence in Murati’s vision and leadership.
Despite launching in February 2025 with no revenue and no product, Thinking Machines has skyrocketed to a $12 billion valuation, underscoring the premium investors are placing on proven AI leadership and early access to frontier talent.
“We’re excited to share our first product soon,” Murati wrote on X. “It’ll include a strong open-source component, designed to help researchers and startups build custom models.”
What’s driving the hype? For one, nearly two-thirds of the company’s team hails from OpenAI, making it a brainpower magnet in what many now call the “AI talent war.”
Murati’s abrupt exit from OpenAI last year now looks like the start of something massive. She’s not alone—Anthropic (founded by Dario Amodei) and Safe Superintelligence (by Ilya Sutskever) have also attracted top ex-OpenAI talent and billions in venture capital.
The investor appetite shows no sign of slowing. According to PitchBook, U.S. startup funding surged 76% in H1 2025, with AI making up over 64% of total deal value.
In a world racing to define the next generation of intelligence, Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines is already ahead of the pack—and it hasn’t even launched yet.