OpenAI has secured a record-breaking $40 billion funding round, valuing the company at $300 billion, led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. The massive investment comes as the company is on the verge of releasing new models and hardware, including an upgraded image generator that is drawing millions of users.
According to OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, the company has added a million new customers in just one hour since rolling out its popular image-making tool to ChatGPT’s free users. The tool allows for more reliable text inclusion and imitation of various styles, including those of famous artists like Hayao Miyazaki.
The company has been working on several other exciting projects, including publicly releasing both a model and the weights behind it, similar to Meta’s Llama models. This move is expected to enable anyone to run the model and unlock its full potential.
OpenAI has also recently expanded its hardware team, hiring former Meta executive Caitlin Kalinowski, and is rumored to be working on cute robots. However, concerns over the company’s future plans, including a planned conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, still linger.
Elon Musk has sued to block the change, and Meta has called on California’s attorney general to investigate it. If OpenAI fails to complete the conversion by the end of 2025, SoftBank’s investment could be reduced to $20 billion from $30 billion.
Despite these challenges, OpenAI remains a dominant force in AI research and development, with its image generator tool drawing widespread attention. As the company continues to innovate and expand its offerings, it is likely to remain at the forefront of the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/01/openai-funding-chatgpt-images-momentum