Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, is making waves with her new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, which is reportedly targeting a staggering $2 billion seed round. This would mark one of the largest initial funding rounds ever, valuing the company at $10 billion or more. Launched earlier this year, the startup aims to build accessible, customizable AI systems that push the boundaries of human expertise in fields like science and programming.
What’s driving this frenzy? Murati’s track record—she spearheaded ChatGPT and DALL-E at OpenAI—plus a star-studded team of ex-OpenAI researchers like John Schulman and Barret Zoph. Investors are betting big on their vision, despite the company having no product or revenue yet. The AI boom’s still got legs, with seed rounds ballooning as development costs soar—compare this to 2015’s largest seed deal at $50 million. But a $2 billion ask for a fledgling startup? That’s either bold confidence or a sign of an overheated market. Critics argue it’s a gamble when economic winds are shaky, and the lack of a clear product raises questions about what exactly investors are buying into. Either way, Murati’s coronation as an AI trailblazer is undeniable.