OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attended an enterprise AI sales event held in Tokyo on February 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung Hoon | Reuters
Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital invested about $1 billion in OpenAI in December at a valuation of $285 billion, people confirmed Wednesday.
This is a preferential deal for the venture capital firm, which has long been one of the major financial backers of artificial intelligence startups.
OpenAI has completed a major funding round totaling over $100 billion and potentially increasing the company’s valuation to $800 billion. Thrive’s investment late last year was a separate deal, but the company is likely to participate in this round, according to people familiar with the discussions, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential.
A representative for Thrive declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported Thrive’s investment.
Thrive announced earlier this month that it had closed its latest fund, worth more than $10 billion. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is close to Kushner, praised the news in a post about X.
“I am extremely grateful to have worked with Josh,” Altman wrote. “You couldn’t ask for a more dedicated, thoughtful, and hard-working investor.”
Kushner has deep ties to the White House, as his father Charles Kushner is the US ambassador to France and his brother Jared Kushner is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
In December, OpenAI also acquired ownership of Thrive Holdings, a company that acquires, owns and operates companies believed to have the potential to benefit from technologies such as artificial intelligence. The startup did not disclose financial terms of the deal.
As previously reported by CNBC, OpenAI’s latest funding round is expected to close in stages. Investments from strategies such as NvidiaSoftbank, Amazoncomes first, which accounts for about 90% of the rounds. Contributions from a wider range of investors are expected to follow.
Watch: Watch CNBC’s full interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
