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Thinking Machines Reportedly Seeks $1B at a Valuation of at Least $40B

The proposed financing would put a far higher price on Mira Murati’s AI lab than its last round, while leaving the final valuation, investor commitment and close unresolved.

By 2 min read
Thinking Machines Reportedly Seeks $1B at a Valuation of at Least $40B
Thinking Machines Reportedly Seeks $1B at a Valuation of at Least $40B

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Thinking Machines Lab is reportedly negotiating a one-billion-dollar financing at a valuation floor of forty billion dollars, with Accel discussing a potential lead role. That would more than triple the lab’s twelve-billion-dollar valuation from its previous two-billion-dollar round. But this is a negotiating threshold, not a completed deal: neither the financing nor Accel’s participation has been formally announced, and the final price could change. The earlier round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed, and Conviction Partners also participating. The reported forty-billion-dollar floor is notable for another reason. It is ten billion below the fifty-billion-dollar valuation Thinking Machines reportedly sought late in 2025, suggesting the current figure is a minimum under discussion rather than a settled market price. There is at least one commercial argument behind the proposed financing. A source familiar with the company’s finances puts its annual revenue run rate above one hundred million dollars, although Thinking Machines has not confirmed that figure. The lab has also launched Inkling, an open-weight model paired with its Tinker platform. Customers pay usage-based compute fees to adapt models with their own proprietary data, giving the company a defined path from model development to revenue. The team has changed since the last round. Co-founders Lilian Weng and Luke Metz have reportedly returned to OpenAI. So the immediate question is narrower than the headline: can these talks become a completed round, and at what final valuation?

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3 key points

Thinking Machines Lab is reportedly negotiating a $1 billion financing at a valuation floor of $40 billion, with Accel discussing a lead role. That would more than triple the lab’s prior $12 billion valuation, though the financing, investor participation, and final price remain unsettled. An unconfirmed revenue run rate above $100 million and the commercial rollout of Inkling and Tinker provide a potential business...

  1. 01

    The reported $40 billion floor is 3.3 times Thinking Machines’ $12 billion valuation in its previous $2 billion round.

  2. 02

    Accel’s participation and leadership role remain unannounced; the financing is still an ongoing negotiation.

  3. 03

    A source puts annual revenue run rate above $100 million, but Thinking Machines has not confirmed the figure.

Thinking Machines Lab is reportedly in discussions to raise $1 billion at a valuation of at least $40 billion, with existing investor Accel in talks to lead. The figure would represent a sharp step up from the lab’s last financing, but it is only a floor in an unfinished negotiation. Neither the financing nor Accel’s role has been formally announced.

A new floor, not a completed price

At the reported minimum, the new valuation would be at least 3.3 times the $12 billion price attached to Thinking Machines’ prior $2 billion round. Andreessen Horowitz led that financing, joined by Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed and Conviction Partners. The lab was founded by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati.

The reported $40 billion floor is also different from the $50 billion valuation the company reportedly sought late in 2025. The floor is $10 billion lower than that earlier target, though a final valuation above the minimum remains possible if a deal is reached.

A commercial path alongside a revenue claim

A person with knowledge of the company’s finances put Thinking Machines’ annual revenue run rate above $100 million. That figure has not been confirmed by the company, and the open-ended revenue and valuation figures do not establish a precise valuation multiple.

The lab introduced Inkling in July, an open-weight model paired with its Tinker platform. Its stated business model charges usage-based compute fees when customers adapt models using proprietary data—one concrete route from model development to revenue.

The team has changed since the last round

  • Thinking Machines has had several high-profile departures since the prior financing.
  • Co-founders Lilian Weng and Luke Metz were among those who returned to OpenAI.

The immediate test is narrower than the headline valuation: whether Accel and Thinking Machines can turn talks into a completed round. Until then, the $40 billion figure is a reported negotiating threshold rather than a new market valuation.

Sources

  1. techcrunch.comAccel reportedly in talks to lead $1B round for Thinking Machines at $40B valuation | TechCrunch

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