AsianFin -- Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, unveiled her new startup, Thinking Machine Labs, last week. The company is in the process of raising a $1 billion funding round, with sources indicating a valuation of around $9 billion, according to Business Insider. While the round is still underway and the details could change, a spokesperson for Murati declined to comment.

A $9 billion valuation is unusually high for a startup less than a year old, but the intense interest from investors in AI ventures—especially those founded by former OpenAI executives—has fueled the ambitious figure.

Murati spent over six years at OpenAI, where she played a key role in developing ChatGPT and other major AI initiatives. She briefly served as interim CEO in November 2023, following the sudden firing of Sam Altman, but resumed her role as CTO after Altman’s reinstatement.

Speculation had been rife in Silicon Valley about Murati’s next move after her departure from OpenAI, with little information until the company made its debut last week.