OpenAI value surges to $157bn in funding deal
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has raised $6.6bn in its latest funding round, as investors including its early backer Microsoft continue to bet big on artificial intelligence (AI).
The deal gave the tech company a value of $157bn (£118bn) - similar to investment bank Goldman Sachs and more than most of America's biggest companies - making it one of the most valuable start-ups in the world.
The influx comes as the company has been in the spotlight, in part for internal leadership drama and debate over its future status.
Chief executive Sam Altman is said to be restructuring the company to become a for-profit entity, stripping it of its non-profit board.
Those critics include OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk who departed the firm in 2018. He has said the company has abandoned its founding mission of developing AI for the benefit of humanity.
OpenAI is widely credited with helping bring artificial intelligence tools into the mainstream and sparking a gush of wider investment and interest in the sector.
