Thinking Machines Seeks $1 Billion at $40 Billion Valuation

Former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati founded Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025 to develop customizable, collaborative artificial intelligence systems. The startup has quickly become one of the industry’s most closely watched private laboratories as investors compete for scarce AI research talent. Its prospective valuation offers another gauge of the premium capital markets are placing on teams capable of building advanced models and commercial AI infrastructure.

Venture capital firm Accel is in talks to lead a $1 billion funding round that would value Thinking Machines at $40 billion or more, according to recent reports. The transaction remains under negotiation, and no closing date has been disclosed. The company has surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue while expanding through Inkling, its open-source model, and a platform that lets customers use proprietary data and computing resources to fine-tune AI systems.