Which Startups Have OpenAI Acquired So Far

It’s hard to remember what a world without OpenAI was like. A world where AI was still a feature of sci-fi movies and ChatGPT didn’t exist.

It’s even more amazing to think about how this company rose from a small non-profit to a startup worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

But it didn’t get this valuation by just building AI models like ChatGPT and Sora, it has also been working on acquiring a number of startups designed to help it grow and evolve.

In fact, just last week it announced the acquisition of Neptune, an AI model development company that gives researchers a clear way to track experiments, monitor training and understand complex model behaviour as it happens.

But who else have OpenAI acquired along their journey so far? We take a look. But first..

Why Do Startups Acquire Other Companies?

Acquisitions can be a great way for startups to scale quickly, without needing to build products or departments from scratch.

Building everything in-house can take a lot of time, so finding businesses that can speed along these processes can help startups grow fast.

Another reason is ‘acqui-hiring’. Acqui-hiring is the process of buying companies with the intention of actually buying their teams. As top talent in areas like cybersecurity and AI are hard to come by, simply acquiring top teams is a great place to start.

Aside from this however, acquisitions can significantly speed up development, give companies bigger market share and remove some of the competition. In that regard, it’s a great strategy for growth.

Open AI’s Acquisitions From 2023 Onwards

Global Illumination (2023)

OpenAI’s first publicly announced acquisition was Global Illumination, a New York startup that used AI to build creative platforms and other online tools.

Multi (2024)

In 2024, OpenAI acquired Multi, a startup that used AI to improve remote collaboration for development teams. The platform allowed up to 10 people to share screens and work together. Almost immediately, most of Multi’s team joined OpenAI.

io (May 2025)

One of OpenAI’s biggest deals to date, the acquisition of io, an AI hardware startup which was co-founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive.

The deal made headlines as it was OpenAI’s first foray into hardware, with a $6.5 billion investment from the company.

Statsig (September 2025)

This was OpenAI’s first billion-dollar acquisition. Statsig built experimentation tools that help AI products improve.

Its founder, Vijaye Raji, was later appointed OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer of Applications, showing OpenAI’s commitment to bettering its products. Under the deal, Statsig continued working with existing customers, whilst also supporting OpenAI’s product development.

Roi (October 2025)

OpenAI’s acquisition of the personal finance app Roi was designed to bring in the talent and tech behind Roi’s personalised finance tools. To many, this was a sign that OpenAI is investing more in personalisation and improving user experience. Roi officially shut down in October, deleting all customer data.

Neptune (December 2025)

Just a few days ago, Open AI announced it had acquired Neptune, which creates dashboards, trackers and debugging tools for managing large-scale model training.

OpenAI was already one of Neptune’s biggest customers, so it felt like a natural move for the company.

What Do These Acquisitions Mean For OpenAI?

It’s clear that OpenAI is not only investing in its own tools, but in the services and improvements that surround them. By investing in hardware, personalisation and AI improvement, the company is not only bettering its own product, but also boosting the value of OpenAI as a whole.

Could this be a sign it’s heading towards an IPO? We will wait and see!

Source: Wikipedia