Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence company launched in early 2024 by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, is in advanced talks to raise $1 billion in new funding at a valuation of at least $40 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Venture capital firm Accel, which has previously backed the company, is in discussions to lead the new financing round.

The reported valuation of $40 billion marks a notable step back from the figures Thinking Machines had previously been pursuing. Late last year, the company was said to be seeking a valuation of around $50 billion as it explored its next major capital raise. If the current round closes at the lower figure, it would reflect a meaningful recalibration of expectations, even as the company continues to grow rapidly.

Revenue Growth Outpaced by Valuation Premium

Thinking Machines is currently generating an annual revenue run rate of more than $100 million, according to a source with direct knowledge of the company's financial position. While that figure signals strong early commercial traction for a startup of its age, a $40 billion valuation still implies an exceptionally high revenue multiple - one that underscores just how much investor confidence in the company's long-term potential is driving its pricing rather than near-term fundamentals.

Such valuation premiums have become increasingly common across the AI sector, where investor appetite for exposure to frontier model development has pushed company valuations well beyond what traditional financial metrics would typically justify. Neither Accel nor Thinking Machines responded to requests for comment on the reported discussions.

Product Offerings and Revenue Model

In July, Thinking Machines introduced a product called Inkling, an open-weight AI model designed to be adapted by businesses using their own proprietary data. The company generates revenue through usage-based compute fees charged when customers fine-tune or adapt the model through its Tinker platform. This approach positions Thinking Machines within a growing segment of AI companies that are offering flexible, customizable model infrastructure to enterprise clients rather than purely closed, proprietary systems.

A Record-Setting Early Fundraise

The new round, if completed, would follow one of the most remarkable seed financings in the history of the technology industry. Thinking Machines previously raised $2 billion in a seed round that valued the company at $12 billion - a figure that itself drew widespread attention given the company was still in its earliest stages. That round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and included participation from Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Conviction Partners.

Investors who backed that initial round did so largely on the strength of the founding team's credentials. Murati spent years at OpenAI and served as its CTO before departing in late 2024. The researchers and engineers who joined her at Thinking Machines brought similarly distinguished backgrounds from the same organization, which helped the startup attract an unusually large amount of capital before it had shipped a single product.

High-Profile Departures Raise Questions

Since its founding, however, Thinking Machines has seen a number of prominent figures exit the company. Several co-founders have left, including Lilian Weng and Luke Metz, both of whom have returned to OpenAI. Weng had been a well-known figure in the AI research community during her time at OpenAI, where she led safety research efforts and authored widely read technical writing on reinforcement learning and related topics. The departures have drawn scrutiny, given that the original investment thesis was built so heavily around the caliber of the founding team.

Despite those exits, the company appears to have maintained enough momentum - both commercially and in terms of investor interest - to pursue a new funding round at a valuation that would represent more than a threefold increase over its previous mark. Whether the round closes at the reported terms remains to be seen, but the discussions themselves signal continued strong demand among top-tier venture investors for stakes in frontier AI development companies, even at prices that stretch conventional valuation logic.