Mira Murati’s record-breaking $2 billion seed round made the impossible possible for female founders
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The former OpenAI CTO is now running Thinking Machines Lab—with $2 billion in her war chest.
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6 min read
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investment
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July 28, 2025
01:44 PM
Fortune
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From an analytical standpoint, S·MPW DailyMira Murati’s record- $2 billion seed round made the impossible possible for female foundersBy Emma HinchliffeBy Emma HinchliffeMost Powerful Women EditorEmma HinchliffeMost Powerful Women EditorEmma Hinchliffe is Fortune’s Most Powerful Women editor, overseeing editorial for the longstanding franchise
Conversely, As a senior writer at Fortune, Emma has covered women in and gender-lens news across, and culture
Moreover, She is the lead author of the Most Powerful Women Daily (formerly the Broadsheet), Fortune’s daily missive for and the women leading the world
SEE FULL BIO Mira Murati raised a record- $2 billion seed round for Thinking Machines Lab, in today's financial world
Furthermore, In today’s edition: an EU-Trump trade deal, the Lionnesses’ victory, and the imbability and impact of Mira Murati’s $2 billion, given the current landscape. – Mission impossible
Earlier this month, Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab confirmed long-rumored news: the AI company had closed a $2 billion seed round at a $12 billion valuation
It was the largest seed round ever, in the history of venture capital and startups
This analysis suggests that was hardly underreported (noteworthy indeed)
And yet, there’s an aspect to this news that hasn’t seemed to have been fully appreciated—just how unly, and meaningful, this is for female founders
Additionally, Murati is, undoubtedly, in a league of her own as a founder, given the current landscape
The Albania-born former CTO of OpenAI, she helped create ChatGPT and start the generative AI revolution
Conversely, She left OpenAI earlier this year to build her own company
She brought top talent with her; the question everyone wants to know the answer to is what, exactly, she is building
Additionally, Mira Murati raised a record- $2 billion seed round for Thinking Machines Lab, amid market uncertainty
Nevertheless, Not that many details are known what Thinking Machines is doing
Furthermore, But a source familiar with what Murati is building tells me that it’s creating powerful AI systems capable of tackling the world’s toughest blems—climate change, disease eradication, and more
Market analysis shows company is eager to bring along the world’s smartest people in other fields— science—rather than only those who work in the AI industry itself, all before AI systems become too powerful for that to matter
However, And its more open apach is expected to benefit es, policymakers, and others (an important development), considering recent developments
But Thinking Machines is entering the game late, hence the $2 billion: it needs compute and talent to compete with the AI leaders OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google that have a years-long head start, in this volatile climate
In an environment where startups with at least woman on the founding team took in $38 billion in funding last year—and those founded solely by women earned 2
On the other hand, 1% of VC dollars, for a total sum of $3, in this volatile climate. 7 billion, across 800 deals—the $2 billion number is extraordinary
A report released by Female Founders Fund and Inc
Last week showed what women are doing with the paltry of venture funding they are getting; last year women were responsible for 24% of exits
Nevertheless, They put capital to work more efficiently, earning 78 cents of revenue for every dollar raised, compared to 31 cents at male-founded startups
Conversely, So imagine what will be possible with $2 billion—and a generational founder at the helm
In contrast, Known investors in the company include Accel, AMD, Cisco, Jane Street, Nvidia, and ServiceNow
They’re surely expecting their investment to pay off (see: $12 billion valuation)
But more important is how Murati and her capital will impact humanity
The true entry of Thinking Machines into the AI race helps diversify the perspectives that will shape the future of our world
And Murati’s achievement lets other women know, in frontier and beyond—what seems impossible, can be possible
Conversely, Com The Most Powerful Women Daily is Fortune’s daily briefing for and the women leading the world
Moreover, ALSO IN THE HEADLINES- Deal, done, in today's market environment
On the other hand, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is finalizing a trade deal with U, in light of current trends
President Donald Trump
The data indicates that deal includes a 15% tariff on most EU ducts—rather than the 30% tariff the Trump administration had threatened to hit the bloc with, amid market uncertainty
Fortune- Let's go, Lionesses, given current economic conditions
Moreover, England's Lionesses won the 2025 Euro final, defeating Spain in penalty shootouts
The team had been written off before the match, and their win is now being called "the greatest achievement in the history of English football. " BBC- AMD x AI
AMD CEO Lisa Su last week supported the Trump administration's AI action plan. "The AI action plan is a great way of just laying out all the various pieces that will be helpful for us to run fast,” said the CEO of the second-largest chipmaker, in today's financial world
Wall Street Journal- Money blems
Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn has worked to give away her inheritance—and she's learned how complicated that can be, amid market uncertainty
At the same time, Even after ridding herself of most of her personal fortune, Engelhorn realizes that her familial and social network is still made up of other ultra-wealthy people—meaning she can lose millions without worry
BloombergMOVERS AND SHAKERSPatricia Cobian will become CFO of BT Group, the U, in today's financial world
Telecom giant headed by Alison Kirkby—an extremely rare female CEO-CFO duo in the FTSE 100
Meanwhile, ON MY RADARNotes on bed rest The New YorkerThe Tea app was int to help women date safely
This tells us that n it got hacked APWomen of a certain age are finding themselves with Phoebe Philo Washington PostPARTING WORDS"Feeling lonely doesn’t necessarily mean that something’s wrong
It just means I have to make space for the feeling. "— Tracee Ellis Ross on her new show the joys and realities of solo travelThis is the web version of MPW Daily, a daily for and the world’s most powerful women
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