Thinking Machines in Early Talks for Raise That Could Hit $50B Valuation
Thinking Machines Lab, the young AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is back in the spotlight. Less than a year after its launch, the company is now in early talks to raise a new funding round that could value it at around $50 billion , according to people familiar with the negotiations. Some insiders say the number could climb even higher — potentially reaching $55–60 billion — depending on how discussions evolve.
If the deal goes through, it would mark a massive jump from the company’s $12 billion valuation in July , when Thinking Machines raised an unprecedented $2 billion seed round , one of the largest ever announced. The new financing would instantly propel the startup into the top tier of the world’s most valuable private AI companies.
Thinking Machines was unveiled in February with a clear mission: to build AI models and tools that support deeper, more seamless collaboration between humans and machines. The company quickly attracted high-profile talent from OpenAI, including co-founder John Schulman and former VP of research Barret Zoph. Its first product, Tinker , allows users to more easily customize large language models — a capability that has already drawn interest from researchers at Princeton, Stanford, and several paying business customers.
But the startup’s rapid rise hasn’t come without pressure. Like many fast-growing AI companies, Thinking Machines is in a fierce competition for top researchers. Last month, co-founder Andrew Tulloch left for Meta, which has been aggressively recruiting AI talent with multimillion-dollar offers.
Still, investor enthusiasm around Murati’s new venture shows no sign of slowing. Her departure from OpenAI in late 2024 sparked a wave of defections that ultimately helped shape Thinking Machines’ early team. Now, as the company explores its next major fundraise, all eyes are on how far its valuation — and its ambitions — will go.
A.M.
