Thrive Capital is investing over $1 billion in OpenAI’s current $6.5 billion fundraising round, with a unique benefit—an option to invest another $1 billion next year at the same valuation, contingent on OpenAI hitting a specific revenue target, according to anonymous sources.
OpenAI is forecasting its revenue will soar to $11.6 billion in 2025, up from an estimated $3.7 billion in 2024. Despite anticipated losses of up to $5 billion this year, largely due to computing power costs, OpenAI’s valuation could reach $150 billion following this fundraising round.
This funding round, structured as convertible debt, aims to close by next week, making OpenAI one of the world’s most valuable private companies. Thrive Capital, which also led a previous round for OpenAI, is contributing $1.2 billion through a mix of its own fund and a special-purpose vehicle. Other notable investors include Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, and Khosla Ventures, though none of them received the future investment option offered to Thrive.
OpenAI’s main revenue drivers include corporate services and subscriptions to its chatbot, **ChatGPT**, which is expected to generate $2.7 billion this year, up from $700 million in 2023. The New York Times first reported details about Thrive’s investment option and OpenAI’s financial outlook.
