Convoluted intrigues of venture capital funding

In the world of startups, attention spans are usually short-lived, just like the apps they build out. One day, you’d be a star, getting media attention left right and centre, speaking at conferences and being named in the Forbes 30 under 30. The following month, you could be facing legal proceedings on charges of fraud. Yet, one company has managed to keep everyone hooked for close to two years now; perhaps this is actually OpenAI’s biggest achievement so far and not GPT. After launching the chatbot, it became the fastest startup to hit a billion users, and even faster in abandoning the non-profit ethos. Last week was more of the same. First, chief technology officer Mira Murati, along with two other executives, left the company, continuing the leadership exodus. However, shortly after, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in fresh funding at a valuation of $157bn, becoming the third most valuable venture capital-backed entity on the planet. Only SpaceX and TikTok parent, ByteDance, are worth more.