Thinking Machines Lab is raising $5 billion at a $40 billion pre-money valuation, Business Insider reported on November 6, 2026. Accel is leading the round, according to multiple sources cited in the report.
The report said the round could close within days. Thinking Machines Lab has not announced the deal and declined to comment, so the terms below are reported figures, not confirmed ones.
Thinking Machines Lab funding: the reported $5 billion terms
Mira Murati founded Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025, five months after leaving her role as chief technology officer of OpenAI. The San Francisco company builds AI models that businesses can customize on their own data.
| Term | Reported figure | Status |
|---|---|---|
| New capital | $5 billion | Reported by Business Insider |
| Lead investor | Accel | Reported by Business Insider |
| Pre-money valuation | $40 billion | Reported by Business Insider |
| Implied post-money valuation | About $45 billion | Arithmetic, if fully raised |
| Company confirmation | None | Declined to comment |
Accel already holds a stake. It took part in the 2025 seed round alongside Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, AMD, Cisco, ServiceNow and Jane Street.
In September, The Information reported that Nvidia could supply about half of a $5 billion to $6 billion round. Business Insider’s November report did not confirm Nvidia’s share.
Thinking Machines Lab valuation history
The company’s last priced round was its $2 billion seed, led by Andreessen Horowitz and closed in July 2025 at a $12 billion valuation. Crunchbase listed it as the largest seed round in its dataset.
A $40 billion pre-money figure is about 3.3 times the seed valuation. The implied post-money of $45 billion would be 3.75 times.
The $40 billion figure sits below an earlier target. In November 2025, Bloomberg reported early talks at about $50 billion, and Business Insider said those talks were later abandoned.
How the reported round size changed
The Information first reported on September 3 that the company was seeking more than $1 billion. It then updated the story to a range of $5 billion to $6 billion.
| Date | Event | Amount | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | Seed round closed, led by Andreessen Horowitz | $2 billion | $12 billion |
| November 2025 | Early talks reported by Bloomberg, later abandoned | Not finalized | About $50 billion target |
| March 2026 | Nvidia strategic investment and compute deal | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| September 2026 | The Information reports new talks, Accel in talks to lead | $5 billion to $6 billion | $40 billion or more pre-money |
| November 2026 | Business Insider reports round nearing close | $5 billion | $40 billion pre-money |
Nvidia’s compute deal with Thinking Machines Lab
On March 10, 2026, Thinking Machines Lab and Nvidia announced a multi-year partnership. The lab will deploy at least one gigawatt of Nvidia Vera Rubin systems, with deployment starting in early 2027.
Nvidia also made what both companies called a significant investment. Neither side disclosed the amount.
Bloomberg Law reported that one gigawatt is roughly the power needed for 750,000 homes. The deal includes joint work on training and serving systems for Nvidia hardware.
Thinking Machines Lab products: Tinker and the Inkling models
The company released its first product, a fine-tuning API called Tinker, in October 2025. It has since shipped three open-weight or planned open-weight models.
| Model | Release date | Total parameters | Active parameters | Weights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inkling | July 15, 2026 | 975 billion | 41 billion | Apache 2.0 |
| Inkling-Small | July 30, 2026 | 276 billion | 12 billion | Apache 2.0 |
| Inkling 2 Small | November 5, 2026 | 594 billion | 17 billion | Closed at launch, Apache 2.0 planned |
Inkling 2 Small launched the same week
Inkling 2 Small went live on Tinker on November 5, one day before the funding report. Its weights are closed for now.
The company said it intends to release the weights under Apache 2.0 the following week, after external safety testing and red-teaming. That release had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
Inkling 2 Small scored 31 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index. Artificial Analysis ranked it the strongest open model outside China, on the condition that the weights are released.
Co-founder departures before the new round
Business Insider reported that Thinking Machines Lab has lost founding team members to Meta and OpenAI.
Co-founder Andrew Tulloch left for Meta in October 2025, TechCrunch reported. Co-founders Barret Zoph, Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz returned to OpenAI in early 2026.
How the Thinking Machines Lab round compares with other AI lab deals
The report landed in the same week as a larger model-lab deal. Bloomberg reported on November 6 that OpenAI had closed an initial $11 billion of a round at a $1.25 trillion valuation.
OpenAI’s former CTO now runs a lab valued at about 3% of OpenAI’s latest mark. Readers tracking the parent company can check this breakdown of who owns OpenAI and its major shareholders.
Model labs have taken most of the capital in AI this year. AI Funding Tracker’s generative AI funding statistics for 2026 show how a few very large rounds drive the annual totals.
What to watch before the round closes
Three points remain open. The company has not confirmed the round, Nvidia’s share has not been reported, and the Inkling 2 Small weights are still pending release.
If the round closes on the reported terms, Thinking Machines Lab would hold about $7 billion in disclosed venture funding, before counting Nvidia’s undisclosed March investment.
FAQ
How much is Thinking Machines Lab raising?
Thinking Machines Lab is raising $5 billion, Business Insider reported on November 6, 2026. The company has not confirmed the round or announced its terms.
What is Thinking Machines Lab’s valuation?
The reported round values Thinking Machines Lab at $40 billion pre-money, or about $45 billion after the new capital. Its last priced round, the 2025 seed, valued it at $12 billion.
Who is leading the Thinking Machines Lab funding round?
Accel is leading the round, according to Business Insider’s sources. Accel also invested in the company’s $2 billion seed round in 2025, which Andreessen Horowitz led.
Who founded Thinking Machines Lab?
Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former chief technology officer, founded Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025. The company is based in San Francisco and builds customizable AI models and the Tinker fine-tuning platform.
What is Inkling 2 Small?
Inkling 2 Small is a 594 billion parameter mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 17 billion active parameters. It launched on Tinker on November 5, 2026, with Apache 2.0 weights planned after safety testing.
