Thinking Machines Lab aims to raise $1 billion at $40 billion valuation, the Information reports

Sept. 3 (Reuters) - Thinking Machines Lab is in talks to raise at least $1 billion at a valuation of $40 billion before the investment, The Information reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Nvidia NVDA.O is in talks to participate, the report added.

• Existing investor Accel is in talks to lead the round.
• The proposed valuation is below what Thinking Machines sought late last year, when it discussed raising $4 billion-$5 billion at a $50 billion-plus valuation, according to the report.
• The startup in July released its first AI model, Inkling, which is open-weight — users can download, run and customize the underlying systems, unlike proprietary, closed-source models — serving primarily as an alternative to open-source offerings from Chinese AI labs.
• Thinking Machines Lab is led by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati and is less than two years old.