Thinking Machines Lab, an artificial intelligence startup established by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, has secured approximately $2 billion in a funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, reaching a valuation of $12 billion.

The funding round also included participation from AI chip leader Nvidia, along with Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, AMD, and Jane Street. This substantial raise for a company that was only founded in February, with no revenue or products as of yet, highlights Murati's talent in drawing in investors during a time when leading executives are highly sought after in an intensifying talent competition.

"We’re thrilled to announce that in the coming months we will unveil our first product, which will feature a significant open-source component and will be beneficial for researchers and startups working on custom models," says CEO Mira.

Thinking Machines aims to create AI systems that are safer, more dependable, and applicable to a wider array of uses than their competitors. Nearly two-thirds of the team at its launch consisted of former employees from OpenAI. Murati, who founded Thinking Machines following an unexpected departure from OpenAI last September, joins a growing list of ex-executives from the ChatGPT creator who have started their own AI companies.

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Two others, Dario Amodei's Anthropic and Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence, have attracted former OpenAI researchers and garnered billions in funding. Investor interest in emerging AI startups remains robust, despite some concerns regarding spending in the tech sector.

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This sustained enthusiasm has contributed to a nearly 76 percent increase in U.S. startup funding, which reached $162.8 billion in the first half of 2025, with AI representing approximately 64.1percent of the overall deal value, according to reports.