startups: NVIDIA makes ‘significant investment’ in Mira Murati’s

Tech giant NVIDIA has announced a significant investment and a multiyear strategic partnership with Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Unveiled on March 10, 2026, the landmark agreement sees Thinking Machines Lab commit to deploying at least a gigawatt of NVIDIA’s cutting-edge Vera Rubin systems for AI model training. This unprecedented compute allocation alone is reportedly valued at tens of billions of dollars, underscoring the escalating race for AI infrastructure.

Mira Murati established Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025, roughly 18 months after her departure from OpenAI in September 2024. Her new venture quickly attracted substantial backing, raising over $2 billion from prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and even NVIDIA’s principal chip rival, AMD’s venture arm. The company has also experienced rapid growth, expanding its team from approximately 30 employees a year ago to around 120 today.

The core of the partnership involves Thinking Machines Lab utilizing NVIDIA’s next-generation hardware to power its ambitious AI development. According to the Financial Times, the sheer scale of the chip supply deal could be worth up to $50 billion, based on NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s previous estimates for one gigawatt of AI data center capacity. Beyond the substantial hardware commitment, the collaboration also includes critical technical integration.

This means NVIDIA and Thinking Machines Lab will work closely to optimize Murati’s products specifically for NVIDIA’s architecture, a synergy that has historically proven vital for rapid advancement in AI, mirroring OpenAI’s early successes. Murati articulated the importance of this alliance, stating, "NVIDIA’s technology is the foundation on which the entire field is built." She added that the partnership "accelerates our capacity to build AI that people can shape and make their own."

This statement aligns with Thinking Machines Lab's stated mission: to develop AI systems that are "more widely understood, customizable and generally capable." This deliberate contrast to the more fixed, off-the-shelf offerings from competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic positions the lab to provide infrastructure that developers and enterprises can deeply tailor to their unique needs.

This collaboration is a clear indicator of the intense "compute race" gripping the artificial intelligence sector. Frontier AI labs are aggressively securing hardware deals, often for systems that are still in development, betting that early access to vast computational resources will grant them a decisive, long-term advantage. For NVIDIA, the deal serves a dual strategic purpose. It not only guarantees significant revenue from its advanced chip sales but also secures a crucial stake in a burgeoning AI innovator, aligning with NVIDIA’s strategy of building a portfolio that tracks the cutting edge of AI development.

For Mira Murati, the NVIDIA partnership represents a significant validation of her vision and an affirmation of Thinking Machines Lab's independent trajectory. It comes after she notably declined an acquisition offer from Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg last year. This new alliance furnishes her 120-person lab with the substantial resources necessary to credibly compete against larger, more established AI organizations.

While the challenge of competing with giants remains, Murati has successfully secured the essential compute power to pursue her ambitious goals. The investment solidifies Thinking Machines Lab’s position as a serious contender in the AI landscape, equipped with the foundational technology from the industry's leading chipmaker. The focus on customizable AI models also hints at a potential diversification in the market, moving beyond monolithic, general-purpose models towards more adaptable solutions. The coming years will reveal whether this strategic compute advantage and a differentiated product philosophy will enable Thinking Machines Lab to disrupt the established order and truly empower users to "make AI their own." This deal sets the stage for a compelling new chapter in the ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence.

FAQ

Q: What is Thinking Machines Lab's primary goal?

A: Thinking Machines Lab aims to build AI systems that are more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable, distinguishing itself from companies that offer relatively fixed AI products by focusing on infrastructure that can be shaped to specific user requirements.

Q: What does NVIDIA's compute commitment to Thinking Machines Lab entail?

A: NVIDIA has agreed to supply Thinking Machines Lab with at least a gigawatt of its next-generation Vera Rubin systems, which will be used to train the startup's AI models. This chip supply arrangement is reportedly worth tens of billions of dollars.

Q: Who is Mira Murati?

A: Mira Murati is the founder of Thinking Machines Lab, which she established in February 2025. Prior to this, she served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of OpenAI, leaving the company in September 2024.