As Thrive Capital and Tiger Global invest $6.6 billion in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT is seeking more than just financial backing from its investors. According to sources reported by Reuters, OpenAI has requested that these investors refrain from funding five companies it views as direct competitors.
The targeted companies include rivals such as Anthropic, Elon Musk’s xAI, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever’s new venture, Safe Superintelligence (SSI). These firms are all racing to develop large language models, a field that demands substantial funding. Additionally, AI search startup Perplexity and enterprise search firm Glean are on the list, indicating OpenAI’s strategy to expand its tool sales to enterprises and end users as it aims for ambitious revenue growth—from $3.7 billion this year to $11.6 billion by 2025.
OpenAI, Perplexity, and SSI have declined to comment on the matter, while Anthropic and Glean did not respond immediately. xAI was also unavailable for comment. Though the request is not legally binding, it highlights how OpenAI is leveraging its position to secure exclusive commitments from its financial backers in a highly competitive environment where access to capital is vital.
While such expectations are common in venture capital, it’s rare for a company to specify a list of competitors. Most investors typically avoid funding direct rivals to mitigate reputational risks, although this line has blurred for late-stage investors like SoftBank and Fidelity, which have invested in both xAI and OpenAI.
This request does not affect OpenAI’s previous investors or their existing investments but could have significant implications for future fundraising efforts for both OpenAI and the five competitors involved.
