OpenAI has taken an equity stake in Thrive Holdings, the private equity firm established by one of its significant investors, Josh Kushner. This development further solidifies the AI company's connections with the network of investors, customers, and suppliers that currently support its operations.
Thrive Holdings was founded with the objective of acquiring accounting and IT companies and integrating artificial intelligence into their core functions. OpenAI's direct involvement now places it within this operational structure.
Thrive Capital, the New York-based investment firm led by Josh Kushner, invested over $1 billion in OpenAI in late 2024. Following this funding round, OpenAI's valuation experienced a threefold increase. Earlier this year, Thrive Capital launched Thrive Holdings as a distinct entity focused on purchasing service firms and implementing AI into their daily operations.
The agreement announced on Monday grants OpenAI ownership within this initiative, supporting its increased focus on business clients from a foundation that was previously primarily consumer-oriented.
OpenAI Contributes Resources for Equity and Future Returns
The specific financial terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed. However, an individual familiar with the transaction indicated that OpenAI did not provide cash. Instead, the company received a substantial equity stake in Thrive Holdings in exchange for granting Thrive's portfolio companies access to OpenAI's products, engineers, developers, and research teams.
This same source suggested that OpenAI will be compensated from the future financial performance of Thrive Holdings. The agreement also grants OpenAI access to data from Thrive's businesses, which will be utilized to enhance its AI models.
OpenAI has expressed a strong interest in expanding its collaborations with the private equity sector. Brad Lightcap, OpenAI's chief operating officer, stated that the partnership with Thrive Holdings is designed to showcase the potential of rapidly deploying frontier AI research and development across organizations to transform business operations and customer engagement.
Lightcap further expressed his hope that this deal will serve as a blueprint for how businesses and industries globally can establish deep partnerships with OpenAI.
Josh Kushner also commented on the agreement, stating, "We are excited to extend our partnership with OpenAI to embed their frontier models, products and services into sectors we believe have tremendous potential to benefit from technological innovation and adoption."
Josh Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.
An individual associated with Thrive Capital described the arrangement as OpenAI functioning as the "research arm" of Thrive Holdings. While Thrive Capital does not hold a direct ownership stake in Thrive Holdings, it was instrumental in its creation, managed its initial $1 billion fundraising, and both firms share many of the same investors.
Expansion into Enterprise Market Amidst Growing Deals and Scrutiny
The agreement with Thrive Holdings coincides with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's strategic push to increase the company's presence in the business sector. Altman recently highlighted a significant focus on the enterprise market, following years of consumer-driven growth.
ChatGPT currently serves approximately 800 million weekly users. OpenAI also boasts around 1 million enterprise customers, including notable companies like Spotify, Canva, and Zillow.
OpenAI's expanding network of financial relationships has attracted increasing attention and scrutiny. In recent months, the company has entered into several agreements with chip manufacturers, such as Nvidia and AMD. These deals provide OpenAI with financial incentives, including equity investments, in exchange for commitments to substantial purchases of the computing chips necessary for its systems' operation and training.
In May, OpenAI finalized its acquisition of io, a hardware startup founded by former Apple executive Jonny Ive. This acquisition was valued at $6.5 billion and was completed entirely through stock, with no cash exchanged.
On the same Monday that the Thrive Holdings deal was announced, OpenAI also confirmed a new partnership with Accenture. The company stated that its business product, ChatGPT Enterprise, will be deployed to "tens of thousands" of Accenture employees.
This deployment integrates OpenAI's tools directly into one of the world's largest consulting workforces, further extending the company's influence within corporate operations.