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Thinking Machines in talks to raise $1B at $40B valuation, below prior ask

Confirmed1 source · Sep 3, 2026

Accel is reportedly leading a new funding round for Mira Murati's AI lab at a lower valuation than the company sought last year.

Thinking Machines in talks to raise $1B at $40B valuation, below prior ask
Image via TechCrunch

What happened

Thinking Machines, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati in early 2024, is in discussions to raise $1 billion at a valuation of at least $40 billion, with existing investor Accel in talks to lead the round, according to The Information. The proposed valuation falls below the $50 billion figure Thinking Machines sought late last year. The company has an annual revenue run rate exceeding $100 million, according to sources with knowledge of its financials. Thinking Machines' previous funding round, a $2 billion seed in which Andreessen Horowitz led alongside Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed, and Conviction Partners, valued the company at $12 billion.

Context

At $40 billion valuation against over $100 million annual revenue run rate, the company trades at an extraordinarily high multiple, though below its prior aspirations. The startup has experienced notable departures since its Series A, including co-founders Lilian Weng and Luke Metz returning to OpenAI, which may bear on investor appetite and company trajectory. Thinking Machines generates revenue through Inkling, an open-weight model introduced in July that charges usage-based compute fees for model adaptation on its Tinker platform. The funding round would reflect investor confidence in Murati's team despite both the departure of key personnel and a lower valuation target than previously pursued.