Early this morning, OpenAI announced it would acquire product testing startup Statsig in an all-stock transaction for $1.1 billion (approximately RMB 7.848 billion), based on its current $300 billion valuation. Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji will serve as OpenAI's Head of Applied Technology, leading product engineering for ChatGPT and Codex, encompassing core systems and infrastructure product lines. This personnel appointment highlights OpenAI's desire to accelerate the development and implementation of AI products by integrating Statsig's technical capabilities.
Notably, this isn't OpenAI's only major recent acquisition. A few months ago, the company acquired io Products, founded by former iPhone designer Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion (approximately RMB 46.375 billion) to advance AI hardware development. The combined $7.6 billion investment from these two acquisitions reflects OpenAI's comprehensive approach to both software and hardware. Financial data shows that, leveraging its core strength in ChatGPT, OpenAI's revenue reached $12 billion annualized in the first seven months of this year and is expected to exceed $20 billion by the end of the year. The company is planning an employee stock buyback at a $500 billion valuation.
Statsig, the acquired company, specializes in providing functional testing and launch tagging tools for developers and secured $100 million in funding earlier this year. Upon completion of the transaction, the Statsig team will join OpenAI while maintaining independent operations from its Seattle office. This "acquire and retain" model will help OpenAI rapidly acquire technical talent while maintaining the innovative energy of the acquired team.
