The round would value Mira Murati’s AI lab below the $50 billion valuation it sought late last year.
Accel is in talks to lead a $1 billion round for Thinking Machines at a $40 billion valuation. The new financing would land below the $50 billion valuation Thinking Machines sought late last year. The company has an annual revenue run rate above $100 million.
Thinking Machines is the AI lab that Mira Murati founded early last year after leaving OpenAI as CTO. The startup previously raised a $2 billion seed round at a $12 billion valuation from Andreessen Horowitz, NVIDIA, GV, Lightspeed, and Conviction Partners. Accel, an existing backer, is leading the new financing discussions.
In July, Thinking Machines introduced Inkling, an open-weight model that generates revenue by charging usage-based compute fees for adapting models on proprietary data through its Tinker platform. For builders and operators, this approach demonstrates a practical way to monetize open-weight models. The $40 billion valuation against a revenue run rate over $100 million reflects an extremely high revenue multiple.
Looking ahead, investors will watch whether the reported $1 billion round closes at the $40 billion valuation. Thinking Machines has also seen co-founders Lilian Weng and Luke Metz return to OpenAI. The departures make talent retention a key factor for the startup’s future.
What matters
- Existing backer Accel is in talks to lead a $1B round that values Thinking Machines at $40B.
- For builders, a $40B valuation against a revenue run rate over $100M reflects an extremely high multiple.
- Watch whether the round closes at $40B, below the $50B valuation Thinking Machines sought.
Why it matters
Watch whether the round closes at $40B, below the $50B valuation Thinking Machines sought.
This GenAI News article was prepared in original wording using reporting and materials published by TechCrunch AI. Source reference: https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/03/accel-reportedly-in-talks-to-lead-1b-round-for-thinking-machines-at-40b-valuation/.
Drafted by the GenAI News review pipeline.