Observed Signal · Feb 25, 2026 · Funding · Source: CNBC Technology · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Thrive Capital Bets $1 Billion on OpenAI's Future
Thrive Capital invested roughly $1 billion in OpenAI in December at a $285 billion valuation, according to a source. The deal was a preferential, separate transaction from OpenAI’s larger fundraise, which the company is finalizing and that could total more than $100 billion and lift its valuation toward $800 billion. Thrive is likely to participate in the ongoing round. OpenAI also took an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings in December; financial terms were not disclosed. Thrive recently closed a fund exceeding $10 billion. The article notes strategic investors such as Nvidia, SoftBank and Amazon will contribute early tranches of the larger round.
Large capital injection into a major AI platform and a concurrently large, ongoing funding round could accelerate AI development and strategic partnerships that affect technology vendors and platform providers relevant to advertising and marketing infrastructure.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Thrive Capital invested roughly $1 billion in OpenAI in December at a $285 billion valuation.
- The Thrive deal was a preferential, separate transaction from OpenAI’s larger fundraising discussions.
- OpenAI is finalizing a funding round that could exceed $100 billion and target an $800 billion valuation.
- OpenAI took an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings in December; terms were not disclosed.
- Thrive recently closed a new fund that exceeds $10 billion; strategics including Nvidia, SoftBank and Amazon are expected to contribute early tranches of OpenAI’s larger round.
Connected Companies & Entities
5 Entities mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
OpenAI-backed Thrive raises $2B for enterprise AI
Thrive Holdings raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation from investors including SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners, and Altimeter Capital to expand its model of buying traditional businesses and embedding AI into their workflows. A spinout of Thrive Capital, Thrive has a close relationship with OpenAI — which took an ownership stake in December 2025 and has seconded employees to accelerate AI adoption at Thrive’s companies. Thrive manages more than 70 businesses across two pillars: Current (accounting) with 50+ firms and over 2,000 professionals, and Shield (IT) with ~20 companies. Thrive says Current’s TaxAI processed over 7,000 tax returns at 98% accuracy and reduced tax prep times by 30%+, while Shield’s tools sped help-desk resolution by 36x. Part of the new funding will expand into physical assets and regulatory services for the built environment.
Thrive Capital Secures $10B for Record-Breaking Fund
Thrive Capital has raised $10 billion for its tenth fund, Thrive X, the largest in the firm’s history and reported to be nearly double the size of its previous fund. Of the $10 billion, $1 billion is allocated to early-stage investments and the remainder for growth-stage deals. Thrive told Bloomberg the fund was oversubscribed. The firm cites major existing investments — including OpenAI, Stripe and SpaceX — as drivers of interest, and has other notable holdings such as Databricks, Anduril and Cursor. Thrive also incubates startups and has spun up 12 companies to date, at least six of which have become unicorns. Founder Josh Kushner emphasized belief in the long-term potential of AI winners.
Thrive Capital Raises $2B, Eyes Lakers Stake
Thrive Capital announced a $2 billion outside fundraise for its AI roll-up vehicle, Thrive Holdings, at a $12 billion valuation with investors including SoftBank, Altimeter Capital and D1 Capital Partners. Founding partner Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger agreed to acquire Mark Walter’s reported 80% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers partly via a separate vehicle, Thrive Eternal. The firm is positioning three core theses: traditional venture investing (including a Thrive X allocation), AI-driven transformation via Thrive Holdings (noting OpenAI’s reported stake in the vehicle), and investments in cultural/live assets through Thrive Eternal. An investor letter disclosed strong paper returns (a 2022 vintage marked at 10.5x gross) and noted past cash returns to LPs. The piece also summarizes adjacent industry items including large raises at prediction-market operators and various AI funding moves.
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