Companies
10/01/2023

Microsoft Is Negotiating A $10 Billion Investment In ChatGPT Owner Semafor




Microsoft Corp is holding negotiations OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT,  for making an investment in the company to the tune of $10 billion whch has valued the San Francisco-based company at $29 billion, according to Semafor, whch cited information from sources with the matter.
 
Other venture firms have contributed to the funding, and deal documents have been distributed to prospective investors in recent weeks, with the goal of closing the round by the end of 2022, according to the report.
 
Microsoft declined to comment, and OpenAI did not respond immediately to Reuters' request for comment.
 
This comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI was in talks to sell existing shares at a valuation of around $29 billion, with venture capital firms such as Thrive Capital and Founders Fund purchasing shares from existing shareholders.
 
On November 30, OpenAI, which was founded by Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk and investor Sam Altman, made the ChatGPT chatbot available for free public testing. A chatbot is a software application that uses user input to simulate human-like conversation.
 
According to the Semafor report, the funding terms include Microsoft receiving 75% of OpenAI's profits until it recoups its initial investment after OpenAI figures out how to make money on ChatGPT and other products such as image creation tool Dall-E.
 
When Microsoft reaches that threshold, it will own 49% of OpenAI, with other investors owning 49% and OpenAI's nonprofit parent owning 2%, according to the report, which does not specify what the stakes will be until Microsoft receives its money back.
 
According to the Information, Microsoft, which invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019, was working on launching a version of its search engine Bing that would use the AI behind ChatGPT.
 
(Source:www.marketwatch.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell
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