Thinking machines lab nears $5 billion funding round at $40 billion valuation, led by accel

AI startup Thinking Machines Lab is reportedly finalizing a new funding round this week, aiming to secure $5 billion based on a $40 billion pre-money valuation, with Accel spearheading the investment. This latest valuation significantly surpasses the company's previous $10 billion valuation and its $2 billion seed round from last year. The lab, founded by Mira Murati, gained prominence after emerging from stealth last year due to its leadership's strong connections to OpenAI, where Murati previously served as CTO. Despite the high-profile nature of the company, which recently released an updated version of its fine-tuning tool, Tinker, it is navigating an intense talent market. While the firm attracted talent like Neal Wu, it has also seen several founding members, including Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, depart for rivals such as Meta and OpenAI. Previously, the company had sought a $50 billion valuation in a round that was ultimately abandoned last year.