OpenAI, the startup that created ChatGPT, is looking to raise more money in a new round that values the company at more than $100 billion, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. It comes as the AI company reportedly revealed it has 1 million paid users for the business version of its ChatGPT product.
One person who is pleased with these announcements is Bedrock founder and managing partner Geoff Lewis, an early investor in OpenAI. Lewis tells Yahoo Finance that though the 1 million mark is an "impressive milestone" and the "revenue numbers under the hood are, frankly, even more impressive," the startup is just at the beginning. Lewis reminds viewers that ChatGPT has been around for less than 2 years and that the organization is "just getting started. I don't think we've ever seen growth like this."
When it comes to tech giants like Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Meta (META) developing their own AI systems, Lewis acknowledges that while the gap between what those companies offer and what OpenAI offers has narrowed, OpenAI has an advantage given its brand recognition and partnerships, like those with Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL). His bigger concern is rivals like Anthropic, which he describes as "extraordinarily aggressive" in going after OpenAI's lead.
When it comes to what is next for the AI giant, Lewis expects OpenAI to stay "private for some time" and for Bedrock to stay invested in the organization for years to come.
Watch the video above to hear Lewis's take on the VC scene right now, including why many venture capitalists are "just marketers and salespeople."
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This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.