OpenAI in talks for a $150 billion valuation

Top News

• Updates on OpenAI’s fundraising: After reports came out a few weeks ago on OpenAI’s potential $100 billion valuation, we’re now getting more updates on their round. Sources close to the deal report that OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5 billion at a valuation of $150 billion, solidifying its status as one of the world's most valuable startups. On top of that, they’re negotiating a $5 billion revolving credit facility with banks. Thrive Capital is still expected to lead the round, with Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia also in discussions to participate.

• Mistral releases multimodal model: French AI startup Mistral has released Pixtral 12B, a 12-billion-parameter model capable of processing both images and text. The model can answer questions about images given via URLs or base64 encoding and is comparable to other multimodal models like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT-4. Mistral is viewed by many as Europe’s answer to OpenAI, and after raising $645 million at a $6 billion valuation just over a year after formation, we’re excited to see if they can live up to expectations.

• Autonomous driving startup closes Series B: It looks like the defense sector is heating up. YC backed its first defense startup, Anduril was valued at $14 billion, and now Forterra, a supplier of autonomous driving technology for military and commercial vehicles, raised $75 million in a Series B. Their round was led by Moore Strategic Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital, and Hedosophia. The funds will go towards expanding its AutoDrive platform and exploring applications in private sectors, such as ports and logistics hubs.

Stripe Investors Cash Out

Today from TWiST500-land, I bring you news of Stripe, the payment processing unicorn with $9.4 billion in total funding. Last week, Sequoia Capital completed an $861 million purchase of Stripe shares from its limited partners, highlighting a strong thirst for liquidity from investors. The transaction, involving shares from funds raised between 2009 and 2012 at $27.51 each (reflecting a $70 billion valuation for Stripe), met significant selling interest, fulfilling the entire allotment Sequoia offered back in July.

This move highlights a potential new approach for VC firms managing mature portfolio companies. Some LPs took the opportunity to exit fully or partially, while others reinvested through newer Sequoia funds. Sequoia expressed optimism about Stripe’s long-term prospects, emphasizing their deepening commitment to the payments giant.

— Erika

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