Palo Alto, CA | July 29, 2025 —In a move that’s shaking up the AI world, Thinking Machines, a stealthy frontier AI startup, has raised a staggering $2 billion in funding, led by none other than former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati.
This investment makes Thinking Machines one of the best-funded AI companies of 2025, and signals a rising power in the race to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) beyond today's large language models.
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Founded in late 2024, Thinking Machines has kept a low profile — until now. The startup’s mission is to develop post-LLM AI architectures with true multi-modal reasoning, long-term memory, and real-world interactivity.
Insiders say the company is building:
The round was led by Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, who joined as Executive Chair and primary investor. Other backers include:
Sources suggest Murati personally contributed over $100M from her OpenAI exit package, betting on Thinking Machines as the “true next step” beyond ChatGPT and Gemini.
This funding isn’t just about capital — it’s about credibility and conviction. Thinking Machines is one of the few startups openly challenging the big three (OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic) by building from scratch rather than fine-tuning existing models.
“We’re not here to polish yesterday’s models — we’re inventing tomorrow’s minds,” said Thinking Machines CEO Dr. Alexei Khan in a rare comment. “This isn’t about GPT-5. It’s about GPT-Z.”
The announcement has rippled across Silicon Valley and AI Twitter. Many see Murati’s move as both a philosophical departure from OpenAI’s path and a bold bet on decentralized AGI.
Others warn the scale of funding could raise safety and alignment concerns, especially with Thinking Machines planning to release open-source components in early 2026.
Cortex Hub Takeaway
$2B is more than a funding round — it's a declaration. If Thinking Machines delivers, it could reset the AI race entirely.
