OpenAI raises $4b for enterprise AI venture

OpenAI has raised over US$4 billion for The Deployment Company, a new venture it will control to help businesses adopt its AI software, a person familiar with the matter said.

The deal values the venture at US$10 billion before the new capital and includes 19 investors led by TPG and Brookfield Asset Management.

The backers also include Advent, Bain Capital, Dragoneer, SoftBank, and consulting firms that together give the venture access to more than 2,000 portfolio companies and clients, the person said.

OpenAI said in April that COO Brad Lightcap would lead special projects including the company’s push to sell software to businesses through the venture.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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OpenAI and Anthropic both push deeper into business use

OpenAI announced its venture the same day Anthropic, an AI company backed by investors, unveiled a similar effort with its own financial partners 1.
Anthropic teamed up with Blackstone Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Hellman & Friedman to put Claude AI into the day-to-day work of a wide range of midsize companies 2.
OpenAI’s venture raised more than US$4 billion, while Anthropic’s effort secured about US$1.5 billion in commitments 3.
Both companies are aiming for initial public offerings, or stock market listings, as soon as this year 4.

The model goes beyond selling software access

These ventures use private equity firms’ portfolio companies and client networks as a way to reach customers 4.
OpenAI’s partners can reach more than 2,000 portfolio companies and clients through those ties 4.
The plan includes forward-deployed engineers, technical staff who work closely with customers to help businesses weave AI into their operations 4.
The approach suggests many companies need setup work or tailoring, not only API access, before they will sign large contracts 5.
OpenAI is using a separate well-funded venture to place its AI models inside large companies’ operations instead of relying only on software subscriptions 5.