California-based OpenAI, the maker of generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, said Wednesday it was expanding its global reach with four new offices after a recent funding round and the emerging landscape of the artificial intelligence technology market.
The firm, which recently received a massive cash injection from investors including Microsoft and chip titan Nvidia, said it would open new sites in Paris, Brussels, Singapore and New York.
It has already opened an office in London and another in Dublin. Earlier in the year, the U.S. startup also opened its first Asia office in Tokyo.
The new office in the Asian financial hub, Singapore, is expected to be opened by the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, pointing to OpenAI's expansion overseas.
The public launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 catapulted the firm into the global spotlight, with the company now almost being a synonym for generative AI despite dozens of strong competitors, including Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini.
ChatGPT allows users to generate human-like text documents from simple conversational prompts. Since its mega launch in November 2023, the chatbot has attracted millions of users worldwide, owing to its rapid responses to questions about everything from math to programming.
OpenAI also makes programs that produce images and is working on a video generator.
The startup, however, has been shaken by the departures of a number of its top executives, even co-founders.
The firm raised $6.6 billion in cash and secured a $4 billion credit line earlier this month, propelling it to a reported $157 billion valuation.
The latest funding coincided with executive changes, including the abrupt departure of longtime Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati.
The personnel changes have not dampened the enthusiasm of most investors, who expect significant growth based on the projections by CEO Sam Altman.
Yet, according to media reports, OpenAI, with a new round, imposed a condition of exclusivity on investors, barring them from investing in rival AI startups, such as Anthropic or Elon Musk's xAI, as well as Safe Superintelligence (SSI), newly co-founded by OpenAI's former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.
A new $4 billion revolving credit line came only a day after a fresh funding round of $6.6 billion, one of Silicon Valley's largest.
"This credit facility further strengthens our balance sheet and provides flexibility to seize future growth opportunities," OpenAI's finance chief, Sarah Friar, said at the time.
Wall Street Journal also recently reported that OpenAI reached an agreement to rent 90,000 square feet (8,360 square meters) in Manhattan’s Puck Building, thus putting down office roots in New York.
