OpenAI acquires stake in Thrive Holdings, seeks to boost AI adoption in business services
OpenAI announced its plan to acquire a stake in Thrive Holdings, an investment fund founded by Thrive Capital. In the deal announced Monday, OpenAI will collaborate with Thrive Holdings to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in businesses, starting with accounting and IT services.
Thrive Capital, a major investor in OpenAI, formed Thrive Holdings earlier this year to build and acquire companies that can use artificial intelligence.
“The initial focus is on accounting and IT services because these functions run high-volume, rules-based, workflow-intensive processes from which the OpenAI platform can provide immediate benefits,” the company said in a statement.
OpenAI will integrate its research, product and engineering teams into Thrive Holdings companies, aiming to increase speed, accuracy and cost efficiency while improving service quality. It was stated that the initiative will develop a repeatable model that can be expanded to other sectors.
Founded by Josh Kushner in 2010, Thrive is known for making small but significant bets and holding them for years. Recently, Thrive has shifted its focus to artificial intelligence. It first invested in OpenAI in 2023 at a valuation of $27 billion. Later that year, he led a $6.6 billion investment, valuing the company at $157 billion. Thrive founded Thrive Holdings in April, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Speaking about the latest partnership, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said: “This partnership with Thrive Holdings is about showing what’s possible when leading-edge AI research and deployment is deployed rapidly across entire organizations to revolutionize the way businesses work and interact with customers. We hope this partnership serves as a model for how businesses and industries around the world can partner deeply with OpenAI.”
increasing debt
The latest development comes after a recent analysis by The Financial Times claimed that companies affiliated with OpenAI, which provides data centres, chips and computing power, had borrowed nearly $96 billion to fund their operations.
According to the report, companies such as SoftBank, Oracle and CoreWeave borrowed at least $30 billion to invest in the unprofitable venture. They are reportedly benefiting from debt-driven spending growth without incurring any financial risk, indicating the AI industry’s increasing dependence on debt.
