Latest news with #PeriodicLabs
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Ex-OpenAI, DeepMind staffers set for US$1 billion value in Andreessen-led round
[NEW YORK] Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has agreed to lead a US$200 million investment in Periodic Labs, a new startup building artificial intelligence (AI) for material science, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement values Periodic Labs at US$1 billion before the investment, an impressive price for a months-old company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. OpenAI had previously agreed to lead the investment, but Periodic Labs decided that Andreessen Horowitz could offer more resources, one of the people said. OpenAI is still expected to participate in the financing and potentially team up with the company, the person said. The round hasn't closed, and terms of the deal could change. Andreessen Horowitz didn't respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for Periodic Labs and OpenAI declined to comment. Periodic Labs was founded by Liam Fedus, OpenAI's former vice-president of research and a key member of the team that launched ChatGPT, and Ekin Dogus Cubuk, a former research scientist at Google's DeepMind AI division. The idea is to use AI to study materials and potentially discover new ones. The Information earlier reported some details of Periodic Labs' fundraising plans. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Little has been shared about the new venture. In a March tweet announcing his departure from OpenAI, Fedus said he was excited about AI for science. He called it 'one of the most strategically important areas' for OpenAI and said the company planned to 'invest in and partner' with Periodic Labs. Fedus is part of a growing group of former OpenAI staffers launching their own ventures, a cadre that's drawn comparisons to the 'PayPal mafia', a group of prolific entrepreneurs including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Anthropic, the OpenAI rival, was started by ex-OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei. Thinking Machines Lab, recently valued at US$10 billion, was founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati. Investors are jostling for stakes in startups launched by alumni of OpenAI and other AI pioneers and are willing to pay lofty prices for what they see as rare talent. At the same time, larger companies are trying to retain employees with massive compensation packages worth hundreds of millions. Several other OpenAI employees – including Rhythm Garg, Linden Li and Yash Patil – recently exited the company to launch a startup called Applied Compute. The startup quickly raised funding from Benchmark, Bloomberg reported. Benchmark's investment valued Applied Compute at US$100 million, Upstarts Media reported. That's still remarkably high for such an early-stage deal, though it pales in comparison with the valuation that Periodic Labs commanded – thanks to Fedus' central role in creating ChatGPT. BLOOMBERG
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Ex-OpenAI, DeepMind staffers set for $1 billion value in Andreessen-led round
Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has agreed to lead a $200 million investment in Periodic Labs, a new startup building artificial intelligence for material science, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement values Periodic Labs at $1 billion before the investment, an impressive price for a months-old company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. OpenAI had previously agreed to lead the investment, but Periodic Labs decided that Andreessen Horowitz could offer more resources, one of the people said. OpenAI is still expected to participate in the financing and potentially team up with the company, the person said. The round hasn't closed, and terms of the deal could change. Andreessen Horowitz didn't respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for Periodic Labs and OpenAI declined to comment. Periodic Labs was founded by Liam Fedus, OpenAI's former vice president of research and a key member of the team that launched ChatGPT, and Ekin Dogus Cubuk, a former research scientist at Google's DeepMind AI division. The idea is to use AI to study materials and potentially discover new ones. The Information earlier reported some details of Periodic Labs' fundraising plans. Little has been shared about the new venture. In a March tweet announcing his departure from OpenAI, Fedus said he was excited about AI for science. He called it 'one of the most strategically important areas' for OpenAI and said the company planned to 'invest in and partner' with Periodic Labs. Fedus is part of a growing group of former OpenAI staffers launching their own ventures, a cadre that's drawn comparisons to the 'PayPal mafia,' a group of prolific entrepreneurs including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Anthropic, the OpenAI rival, was started by ex-OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei. Thinking Machines Lab, recently valued at $10 billion, was founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati. Investors are jostling for stakes in startups launched by alumni of OpenAI and other AI pioneers and are willing to pay lofty prices for what they see as rare talent. At the same time, larger companies are trying to retain employees with massive compensation packages worth hundreds of millions. Several other OpenAI employees — including Rhythm Garg, Linden Li and Yash Patil — recently exited the company to launch a startup called Applied Compute. The startup quickly raised funding from Benchmark, Bloomberg reported. Benchmark's investment valued Applied Compute at $100 million, Upstarts Media reported. That's still remarkably high for such an early-stage deal, though it pales in comparison with the valuation that Periodic Labs commanded — thanks to Fedus' central role in creating ChatGPT. Clark writes for Bloomberg.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
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.
