Core Insights - Thinking Machines Lab (TML) has completed a $2 billion seed funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $12 billion, setting a record for the largest single seed round in venture capital history [2][4] - The funding round was led by a16z, with participation from notable investors including Nvidia, AMD, Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, and Jane Street [2] - TML was founded by Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, who has a controversial history involving internal conflicts at OpenAI [2][9] Company Overview - TML was officially established in February 2023 and is currently in "stealth mode," having not yet released any products [4] - The company plans to use the funding primarily for computing power procurement, talent recruitment, and pre-training of multimodal large models [2][4] - TML has signed a multi-year GPU/TPU procurement agreement with Google Cloud, although the contract amount remains undisclosed [2] Funding Details - Initially, TML aimed to raise $1 billion but increased the target to $2 billion due to the founders' reputations [4] - The valuation increased from $10 billion to $12 billion within a short period, reflecting a 20% premium [2] Team Composition - As of July, TML has 62 full-time employees, with 47 having previously worked at OpenAI, Google DeepMind, or Anthropic [6] - The technical staff constitutes 80% of the workforce, with 92% holding advanced degrees [6] Leadership and Vision - a16z's investment is largely based on confidence in Murati's leadership and her ability to attract top-tier talent [7] - Murati's experience in productizing AI technologies like GPT-4 and ChatGPT is a significant factor in the investment decision [7] Background of Founder - Mira Murati, born in 1988, has a background in mechanical engineering and previously worked at Tesla before joining OpenAI [8] - She played a crucial role in the development of several high-profile AI products during her tenure at OpenAI, leading to her rapid rise in the industry [8] Controversies - Murati was involved in the internal conflict at OpenAI, including a brief period where she acted as CEO during a crisis [9] - Her initial support for the ousting of Sam Altman shifted to a more conciliatory stance, ultimately leading to his return as CEO [9]