Thinking Machines Lab — Startup Profile
AI fine-tuning infrastructure founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati
HQ: San Francisco, CA | Founded: 2024 | Employees: 50-100 | Stage: Seed / Early Growth | Website: https://thinkingmachines.ai
About
Thinking Machines Lab is an AI infrastructure company founded in 2024 by Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, along with co-founders Barret Zoph and John Schulman. The company develops tools and cloud infrastructure for fine-tuning and adapting large language models. Its primary product, Tinker, launched in 2025, provides a managed platform for researchers and enterprises to customize models for domain-specific applications. The company raised $2 billion in seed funding in mid-2025 at a $10 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz, and was in talks for a subsequent round at approximately $50 billion by late 2025. In March 2026, Nvidia announced a new investment in the company alongside a chip supply partnership.
The Take
Thinking Machines Lab has assembled one of the most credentialed founding teams in AI, with deep expertise from OpenAI's research and infrastructure divisions. The launch of Tinker positions the company at the intersection of the open-model movement and enterprise demand for customized AI. The Nvidia partnership and rapid valuation escalation signal strong investor confidence, though the company faces competition from incumbents like Together AI, Fireworks AI, and cloud providers' native fine-tuning services.
Key Metrics
- Latest Known Valuation: $10–50B (seed to 2025 talks)
- Total Known Funding: $2B+ seed round
- Founded: 2024
- Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
- Key Product: Tinker fine-tuning platform
- Key Partner: Nvidia (investor + chip supply)
Funding Rounds
- Round: $2B (2025-06-20) — Andreessen Horowitz
- Round: Undisclosed (in talks) (2025-11-13) — Undisclosed
- Round: Undisclosed (2026-03-10) — Nvidia
Key People
- Mira Murati
- Barret Zoph
- John Schulman
Key Competitors
- Together AI —
- Fireworks AI —
- Anyscale (Ray) —
- AWS / Google Cloud / Azure (native fine-tuning) —
Timeline Highlights
- 2026-03-10: Nvidia Strategic Investment
- 2025-11-13: $50B Valuation Funding Talks
- 2025-07-15: Tinker Platform Launched
- 2025-06-20: Emerges from Stealth with $2B Seed
- 2024-11-01: Company Founded
Recent News
- Nvidia to Invest in Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab and Supply Chips (2026-03-10)
- Murati's Thinking Machines in Funding Talks at $50 Billion Value (2025-11-13)
- Thinking Machines Lab Unveils Tinker for Fine-Tuning AI Models (2025-07-15)
- Mira Murati's AI Startup Thinking Machines Lab Emerges from Stealth with $2B Seed, $10B Valuation (2025-06-20)
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