Thrive Capital invested roughly $1 billion in OpenAI, source says

Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital invested nearly $1 billion in OpenAI in December at a $285 billion valuation, a source confirmed Wednesday.

It’s a preferential deal for the venture capital firm, which has long been one of the AI ​​startup’s biggest financial backers.

OpenAI is completing a massive funding round that could total more than $100 billion and push the company’s valuation to $800 billion. Thrive’s investment late last year was a separate deal, but the firm is likely to participate in the current round, according to a source familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential.

A representative for Thrive declined to comment. Wall Street Magazine It was the first company to report Thrive’s investment.

Thrive announced earlier this month that it had closed its latest fund, valued at over $10 billion. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who has a close relationship with Kushner, praised the news a post In X.

“I am extremely grateful to work with Josh,” Altman wrote. “No one could ask for a more determined, more thoughtful or more diligent investor.”

As Kushner’s father, he has deep ties to the White House. Charles KushnerJared Kushner, the US ambassador to France and his brother, is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

In December, OpenAI also acquired an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings, a company that acquires, owns and operates companies it believes can benefit from technologies such as artificial intelligence. The startup did not disclose the financial terms of this deal.

As CNBC previously reported, OpenAI’s latest funding round is expected to be completed in phases. Strategic investments NvidiaSoftBank and AmazonThose who make up roughly 90% of the round will be first in line. This will be followed by contributions from a broader pool of investors.

WRISTWATCH: Watch CNBC’s full interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman