After having invested 1 billion dollars in this specialist in artificial intelligence (AI) tools, Microsoft would be on the point of injecting a sum 10 times greater as part of a fundraiser, revealed the Semafor site.

If the operation goes through, OpenAI's valuation could then reach the astronomical sum of $29 billion.

Microsoft and OpenAI have not confirmed this information to AFP.

"As ChatGPT is one of the most innovative AI technologies in the industry, Microsoft is clearly aggressive on this front and does not intend to lag behind a game-changing investment in AI," says Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

The computer giant, which makes no secret of its ambitions in terms of AI, has already integrated Dall-E 2 into several of its applications.

He wants to add ChatGPT to his Bing search engine and thus compete with that of Google, Bloomberg understands.

- Prestigious contributors -

Since the launch of ChatGPT at the end of November, the prowess of this chatbot, able to formulate detailed answers in a few seconds on a wide range of subjects, has aroused the curiosity and fascination of Internet users.

Its success is partly due to OpenAI's clever marketing strategy, points out AI specialist Robb Wilson, founder of the OneReach.ai chatbot development platform.

“Making this technology available to experts is one thing,” says Wilson.

"Offering it via a user interface and allowing the general public to play with it was the trigger" for the wave of enthusiasm for this tool, he continues.

Founded in late 2015, OpenAi is run by 37-year-old entrepreneur Sam Altman, former president of start-up accelerator Y Combinator.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, on July 6, 2022, in Sun Valley, Idaho © Kevin Dietsch / GETTY/AFP/Archives

The company was able to count from the start on the financial support of prestigious contributors, including the co-founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman, the investor Peter Thiel as well as a certain Elon Musk.

The multi-billionaire served on OpenAI's board of directors until 2018, but left to focus on his responsibilities at Tesla.

The start-up also relies on a team of computer scientists and researchers led by Ilya Sutskever, a former Google executive who specializes in machine learning.

OpenAI, which did not respond to AFP's solicitations, had about 200 employees in 2021, according to a query made directly on ChatGPT.

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While OpenAI promises a lot technologically, the company has yet to find its way to financial stability.

Created as a non-profit association, the start-up became a "capped profit" company in 2019 in order to attract capital.

During the announcement of Microsoft's investment, it also announced its intention to commercialize its technologies.

More recently, one of OpenAI's co-founders, Greg Brockman, reported that a paid version of ChatGPT was in the works.

This will offer advanced features for users, including even faster responses.

The search for financing seems necessary for a company with exorbitant expenses.

In a Twitter exchange with Elon Musk in early December, Sam Altman acknowledged that each conversation on ChatGPT costs OpenAI several cents.

According to estimates by Tom Goldstein, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, the company pays $100,000 a day for its chatbot, or about $3 million a month.

The partnership with Microsoft, which provides the start-up with its remote computing services, could reduce costs.

"It's not cheap either way," Goldstein said.

© 2023 AFP