Nvidia in Talks to Lead $2.5-3B Investment in Murati's Thinking Machines at $40B+ Valuation
According to a report by The Information, relayed by multiple bloggers, Thinking Machines Lab—founded by former OpenAI co-founder Mira Murati—is in talks for a new funding round of $5 billion to $6 billion at a pre-money valuation of at least $40 billion, with Nvidia potentially leading with $2.5 billion to $3 billion on its own. The deal is still in the negotiation stage and not finalized, but the valuation growth and the investor's identity have already sparked wide discussion.
Confirmed
- The source is The Information's report (relayed by The Next Web and others): Thinking Machines Lab is negotiating $5 billion to $6 billion in new financing at a pre-money valuation of at least $40 billion
- Nvidia plans to invest $2.5 billion, with 新智元 (New Zhiyuan) reporting it could reach $2.5 billion to $3 billion as lead investor
- The company is less than two years old, focuses on open-weight models, and competes with OpenAI and Anthropic; per 新智元, its valuation has tripled in about 14 months
Unconfirmed
- Both the funding and Nvidia's investment remain in the negotiation stage; final amounts, valuation, and whether the deal closes are all unannounced
Why it matters
- If the deal goes through, it would be another major Nvidia bet on an OpenAI competitor, and a valuation of at least $40 billion for a company under two years old reflects the premium currently placed on the open-weight approach and star teams in the AI funding frenzy
- Noteworthy backdrop: Jensen Huang recently said publicly that OpenAI has achieved AGI, while Nvidia is simultaneously pouring billions into an OpenAI rival—a move several bloggers (e.g., @SimplyAnnisa, @eyishazyer) read as a hedging play
2026-09-07 ~ 2026-09-07 · 5 related posts
- Episode 1: Thinking Machines in Talks for $1B+ Raise at $40B Valuation, NVIDIA Weighs Multi-Billion Investment(2026-09-04, 9 posts)
- Episode 2: Nvidia in Talks to Lead $2.5-3B Investment in Murati's Thinking Machines at $40B+ Valuation(2026-09-07, 5 posts)
Primary sources
- [source] Nvidia reportedly in talks for $2.5B bet on Thinking Machines Lab at ~$40B valuation — kimmonismus · 2026-09-07
- Nvidia reportedly negotiating $2.5B investment into Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab — eyishazyer · 2026-09-07
- [source] Nvidia in talks to invest up to $3B in Thinking Machines Lab at $40B+ pre-money valuation — 新智元 · 2026-09-07
2 near-duplicate retellings: SimplyAnnisa · mark_k