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OpenAI’s CFO says funding round should close by next week in letter

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OpenAI’s Sora AI tool allows users to create AI-generated videos from text-based inputs.

Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar is looking to reassure its investors that the richly valued artificial intelligence startup is still in a strong position and is poised to close a big funding round soon, despite losing top talent this week.

In an email to OpenAI’s investors seen by CNBC, Friar addressed the departure of Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who announced her departure on Wednesday. Later that day, Sam Altman said two top research executives, Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph, were also leaving.

“I wanted to personally reach out following the news of Mira’s departure from OpenAI,” Friar wrote in the letter, which was viewed by CNBC. “While leadership changes are never easy, I want to ensure you have the full context.”

Friar added that, “We are incredibly proud of everything she’s helped build,” and said the San Francisco-based company still has a “talented leadership bench” to compete.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft and recently partnered with Apple on its AI for iPhones, is in the midst of closing a $6.5 billion funding round, which should value the company at roughly $150 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. Thrive Capital is leading the round, and plans to invest $1 billion, according to sources.

Friar said in the email that the funding round was oversubscribed and would close by next week. She said the team plans to host a series of calls with investors to introduce the group to key leaders from product and research teams.

“Collectively, we remain laser-focused on bringing AI to everyone and building sustainable revenue models that fuel our operations and deliver value to our investors and employees,” Friar wrote. The company is “excited for you to be with us as we enter our next chapter,” she wrote.

OpenAI declined to comment on the email.

Murati’s departure comes after six and a half years at the company. She briefly served as interim CEO last year after the board of directors abruptly fired Altman. When Altman was quickly reinstated, Murati returned to the role of CTO.

Sarah Friar has been named OpenAI CFO

Anjali Sundaram | CNBC

The company was already dealing with the loss of key executives. Co-founder John Schulman and safety chief Jan Leike left to join rival Anthropic. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever left to start another AI company , while another founder, Greg Brockman, is on a leave of absence.

Friar said Mark Chen will step into the role of of senior vice president of research, and leaders like Kevin Weil, who joined from Meta, and Srinivas Narayanan are the “right people to keep pushing the boundaries of innovation.”

Friar was formerly CEO of Nextdoor, and before that CFO at Block, formerly Square.

Also on Thursday, at an all-hands meeting, Altman denied that there are plans for him to receive a “giant equity stake” in the company, calling reports of such a development “just not true,” according to a person who was in attendance.

Altman and Friar both said at the meeting, conducted by video, that investors have raised concerns about Altman not having equity in the company that he co-founded almost nine years ago, said the person, who asked not to be named because the gathering was only for employees.

WATCH: Sam Altman’s top deputies depart

OpenAI may restructure into a for-profit business as two top executives depart

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Anthropic closes in on $3.5 billion funding round

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Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21st, 2025.

Gerry Miller | CNBC

Anthropic is in talks to raise a $3.5 billion funding round, significantly more than the amount previously expected, CNBC has confirmed.

The round would roughly triple the artificial intelligence startup’s valuation to $61.5 billion, according to two sources familiar with the deal, who asked not to be named because the details aren’t public. Lightspeed Ventures is leading the funding, with participation from General Catalyst and others, the sources said.

The financing, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, signals continued investor demand for top-tier AI companies, even in the face of potential disruption from China’s DeepSeek. Anthropic is backed by Amazon and Google, and had initially set out to raise $2 billion, according to a source.

Anthropic declined to comment.

The company’s last private market valuation was $18 billion. Amazon has poured $8 billion into the startup.

Anthropic was founded by early OpenAI employees and is the creator of the popular chatbot Claude. Earlier Monday, Anthropic released what it says is it’s “most intelligent AI model yet. Its so-called hybrid model combines an ability to reason — or stopping to think about complex answers — with a traditional model that spits out answers in real time.

WATCH: Anthropic unveils newest AI model

Amazon-backed Anthropic unveils newest AI-model

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Jamie Dimon calls U.S. government ‘inefficient,’ touts Elon Musk’s DOGE effort

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Watch CNBC's full interview with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Monday said the U.S. government is inefficient and in need of work as the Trump administration terminates thousands of federal employees and works to dismantle agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Dimon was asked by CNBC’s Leslie Picker whether he supported efforts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He declined to give what he called a “binary” response, but made comments that supported the overall effort.

“The government is inefficient, not very competent, and needs a lot of work,” Dimon told Picker. “It’s not just waste and fraud, its outcomes.”

The Trump administration’s effort to rein in spending and scrutinize federal agencies “needs to be done,” Dimon added.

“Why are we spending the money on these things? Are we getting what we deserve? What should we change?” Dimon said. “It’s not just about the deficit, its about building the right policies and procedures and the government we deserve.”

Dimon said if DOGE overreaches with its cost-cutting efforts or engages in activity that’s not legal, “the courts will stop it.”

“I’m hoping it’s quite successful,” he said.

In the wide-ranging interview, Dimon also addressed his company’s push to have most workers in office five days a week, as well as his views on the Ukraine conflict, tariffs and the U.S. consumer.

Watch CNBC's full interview with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon

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