OpenAI is taking an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings, a company created by Thrive Capital—the VC firm that is itself a major OpenAI investor. Thrive Holdings functions as a private-equity-style operator focused on acquiring companies in sectors such as accounting, IT services, and operations where AI could deliver significant efficiency gains.
While financial terms were not disclosed, the deal includes OpenAI embedding engineering, research, and product teams directly inside Thrive’s portfolio companies to accelerate AI adoption. OpenAI will reportedly receive compensation for these services and its ownership stake will grow if the companies’ performance improves.
The partnership highlights a broader pattern of circular dealmaking by the $500 billion AI leader. OpenAI has recently taken strategic positions in key infrastructure partners like AMD and CoreWeave—firms that both enable and benefit from its rapid scale-up. Analysts say the real test will be whether Thrive-owned companies achieve sustained profitability from AI integration, or whether valuations become inflated based on speculative future potential.
