OpenAI is on a M&A tear.
Days after acquiring database technology company Rockset, it has been acquired by OpenAI Multi (previously Removal), a startup developing a video-first, enterprise-focused collaboration platform. A source familiar with the matter says the deal is technically an acquisition and that most of the Multi team — about five people — will join OpenAI after the deal closes.
Multi will close after July 24, 2024, says Alexander Empirikos, Multi’s CEO and one of its founders.
“We are very excited to share that Multi is joining OpenAI,” he wrote in a message. mail On multiple blogs. “Thank you to everyone who used Multi. It was great building with you, and we learned a lot from you.
With Multi, Embiricos (a former product manager at Dropbox) and Multi’s second co-founder, Charley Ho (a former software engineer at Google), set out to build a Zoom-based platform designed for remote teams to work together through video chats. Multiple features are offered such as the ability to collaborate via screen shares for up to 10 people at the same time, customizable shortcuts and automatic deep links for codes, designs and documents.
According to Crunchbase DataMulti raised $13 million in capital from venture capital firms including Greylock and First Round Capital before exiting today.
As with the Rockset purchase, the Multi deal appears to fit into OpenAI’s recent, broader strategy of doubling down on enterprise solutions. OpenAI recently open The enterprise layer of the viral AI-powered chatbot platform, ChatGPT, has nearly 600,000 users, covering 93% of the Fortune 500.
In May, OpenAI signed an agreement with PwC to resell OpenAI tools to other companies. The previous month, the company launched a program dedicated to AI model tuning and business-oriented consulting.
These moves appear to be paying off, with OpenAI’s annual revenues high It said It is expected to exceed $3.4 billion this year.
In the same vein, could we one day see ChatGPT harmonized with video conferencing and remote collaboration features geared toward enterprise organizations? maybe. I wouldn’t go past OpenAI, especially with the time lag between its main models prolongs.