OpenAI Expands With Acquisition Of Collaboration Platform Multi

OpenAI has recently acquired Multi, a startup that was developing a video-first collaboration platform for enterprises. This comes shortly after OpenAI's acquisition of database tech firm Rockset. The deal with Multi is considered an acqui-hire, and most of the team, consisting of around five people, will join OpenAI once the transaction is complete.

Alexander Embiricos, CEO and co-founder of Multi, announced that the company will cease operations after July 24. In a blog post, he expressed gratitude to those who used Multi and shared their excitement about joining OpenAI. Embiricos, a former Dropbox product manager, and Charley Ho, an ex-Google software engineer and Multi's second co-founder, aimed to create a Zoom-based platform for remote teams to collaborate via video chats. The platform offered features such as simultaneous screen shares for up to 10 people, customizable shortcuts, and automatic deep links for code, designs, and documents.

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Multi's funding history

Prior to the acquisition by OpenAI, Multi had raised $13 million from venture capital firms like Greylock and First Round Capital, according to Crunchbase data. This acquisition aligns with OpenAI's recent strategy of heavily investing in enterprise solutions.

The company disclosed that its AI-powered chatbot platform ChatGPT's corporate tier has nearly 600,000 users, including 93% of all Fortune 500 companies.