OpenAI was valued at $80 billion this year|ishmael daro|CC BY 2.0

ChatGPT parent OpenAI is in talks to raise several billions in its new funding round with investors such as venture capital firm Thrive Capital and Microsoft, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The funding could increase the AI startup’s value to over $100 billion.

Thrive is set to lead the round, investing $1 billion.

Earlier this year, OpenAI was valued at $80 billion, up from $29 billion the previous year, driven by the success of its ChatGPT bot and AI content generation tools.

Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI, holding a 49% share. It has invested over $13 billion in the firm since 2019.

The AI industry is highly competitive, with companies like Google, Amazon and Meta developing their own products. OpenAI remains one of the top startups involved in the field. It is also collaborating with Apple to develop AI features for future iPhones.