Apple Negotiated to Acquire AI Company Founded by Former OpenAI CTO, but Talks Fell Through

AIbase基地

Published in AI News · 4 minute read · Jul 9, 2025

According to Bloomberg, Apple had previously discussed the possibility of acquiring Thinking Machines Lab, a company founded by Mira Murati, former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI. During her time at OpenAI, Mira Murati experienced the company's board turmoil and briefly served as interim CEO before leaving and founding Thinking Machines Lab.

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Image source note: The image is AI-generated, and the image licensing service is Midjourney

Thinking Machines Lab is an emerging company dedicated to advancing the field of artificial intelligence. Although the company has not yet launched any specific products, it successfully raised $2 billion in a seed funding round, giving it a valuation of $10 billion. This round was led by the renowned investment firm Andreessen Horowitz, showing investors' confidence in its future development.

Currently, there is limited public information about Thinking Machines Lab. The company's mission is to make artificial intelligence knowledge and tools accessible to everyone according to their unique needs. The company states that the understanding and application of existing cutting-edge AI systems still lag behind technological advancements, which limits public discussion and use of AI. Thinking Machines Lab hopes to make AI systems more understandable and customizable through its efforts, better serving the general public.

Although Apple showed interest in acquiring Thinking Machines Lab, the negotiations did not result in substantial progress. This contrasts with Apple's ongoing evaluation of another AI company, Perplexity, whose discussions seem to be more advanced.

This contact between Apple and Thinking Machines Lab reflects the importance that tech giants place on the field of artificial intelligence. The rapid development and application potential of AI technology have attracted increasing attention from companies and investors.

Key Points:
🌟 Apple had discussions about acquiring Thinking Machines Lab, founded by a former CTO of OpenAI, but no agreement was reached.
💰 Thinking Machines Lab recently completed a $2 billion seed funding round, valuing the company at $10 billion.
🤖 The company is committed to making AI systems easier to understand and customize to meet users' unique needs.

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