Thinking Machines, the artificial intelligence lab launched last year by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly in talks to secure a new $1 billion funding round at a valuation of at least $40 billion. Existing investor Accel is said to be in discussions to lead the deal.
If completed, the round would place the company below the $50 billion valuation it had reportedly targeted late last year, while still marking one of the most notable private-market valuations in the AI sector.
The startup is also said to be generating more than $100 million in annual revenue run rate. That figure would make the proposed valuation a striking multiple, reflecting the strong investor appetite surrounding frontier AI platforms.
In July, Thinking Machines introduced Inkling, an open-weight model designed to support revenue through usage-based compute fees on its Tinker platform, where customers adapt models using proprietary data.
The company previously raised a $2 billion seed round at a $12 billion valuation, with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed, and Conviction Partners. As the AI ecosystem matures, such funding rounds may help define how next-generation model labs scale, monetize, and shape the future of intelligent software.
