4 days ago
OpenAI and Benchmark Back New Startups From Ex-OpenAI Staffers
Two and a half years ago, Liam Fedus was part of the team that helped create ChatGPT and kicked off a frenzy around artificial intelligence. Now, he's among the growing group of ex-OpenAI employees seizing on the AI investment boom with startups of their own.
Fedus, OpenAI's former vice president of research for post-training, is raising more than $100 million to launch a company called Periodic Labs that's focused on AI for material science, according to people familiar with the matter. The round is being led by OpenAI and will value the new startup at about $1 billion, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private information. Fedus is working with Ekin Dogus Cubuk, a former research scientist at Google DeepMind.
