AI startup Thinking Machines Lab is set to close a fresh round of funding as soon as this week.
The startup is raising $5 billion at a $40 billion pre-money valuation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Accel is leading the round, according to the sources.
Previously, Thinking Machines Lab, which was founded by Mira Murati, was valued at more than $10 billion and raised a $2 billion seed round last year before launching a product.
This round would more than triple Thinking Machines’ valuation from its last public round last year, showing that investors are still willing to place enormous bets on AI labs even as the industry’s talent war intensifies. Last year, the company was seeking a new round at a $50 billion valuation, but talks were abandoned.
A representative for TML declined to comment. Accel did not respond to a request for comment.
It emerged from stealth last year as one of the highest-profile AI labs thanks to its leadership’s deep ties to OpenAI. CEO Mira Murati previously served as OpenAI’s chief technology officer, while other key figures helped train the early versions of ChatGPT.
The company’s first tool, Tinker, is a system that enables users to more easily fine-tune large language AI models. TML released a new version of Tinker on Thursday, stating that the model has seen gains in AI coding.
The startup has attracted top talent like competitive coder Neal Wu. At the same time, the battle for AI talent has intensified, and Thinking Machines has lost many of its founding members, including Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Andrew Tulloch, to rival companies.
As Business Insider reported in May, about a third of its founding team has left Thinking Machines, driven by a mix of factors including huge pay packages offered by rival AI labs like Meta and OpenAI.
In September, The Information reported that Thinking Machines Lab was in talks to raise a new round of funding.
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