OpenAI has revealed that it is taking an ownership position in the private equity firm Thrive Holdings, a move that becomes even more intriguing when considering that Thrive Holdings’ parent company—Thrive Capital—is already one of the primary investors in OpenAI itself. This unusual dynamic creates a feedback loop in which investor and investee essentially occupy both sides of the same financial relationship. According to information shared with *The Financial Times* by an undisclosed source, OpenAI did not spend any of its own capital to obtain this ownership stake. Instead, its contribution will take an unconventional form: the company announced plans to provide Thrive Holdings and its portfolio businesses with access to OpenAI’s own resources, including its personnel, artificial intelligence models, proprietary products, and related services. This exchange represents a strategic partnership that leverages technical expertise and intellectual assets rather than direct financial expenditure.
The *FT*’s anonymous source further noted that OpenAI could receive financial distributions tied to Thrive Holdings’ future investment returns, effectively entitling it to benefit from the success of the very companies it helps improve. This arrangement exemplifies the increasingly common pattern of what might be described as circular or self-reinforcing deals within the technology and venture capital sectors—industries where decisions are often driven by fear of missing out and where capital tends to circulate among a relatively small network of interlinked firms. Through such partnerships, companies create intricate systems of dependency and alignment, reinforcing each other’s influence while reducing external exposure.
According to the public announcement, the collaboration will concentrate primarily on two areas that Thrive Holdings has identified as its highest strategic priorities: information technology services and accounting. These domains are characterized by high volume, repetitive, and heavily rule-based workflows—conditions under which OpenAI’s platforms, particularly its generative and analytical models, can yield rapid operational efficiency. In these sectors, automation and precision hold exceptional value. The overarching objective, as articulated in the announcement, is to apply artificial intelligence to accelerate performance, enhance accuracy, cut operational costs, and elevate the caliber of services offered. In essence, the initiative seeks to demonstrate how AI can serve as a transformative force in routine yet critical business operations.
Joshua Kushner, who serves as the chief executive officer of both Thrive Holdings and its parent fund, Thrive Capital, described artificial intelligence as a fundamentally different form of technological innovation from those that reshaped industries in earlier eras. Unlike previous breakthroughs that imposed change externally—so-called “outside-in” disruptions—Kushner emphasized that AI will revolutionize industries “from the inside out.” His argument suggests that the next stage of transformation will originate within professional domains themselves, as subject-matter experts and practitioners adopt AI as an integral, native instrument for redefining their work. Notably, Kushner’s familial link to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, introduces a political and social dimension to the story. Trump, who has frequently expressed enthusiasm for the potential of artificial intelligence to spur economic growth, leads an administration that includes several figures, such as entrepreneur and political ally David Sacks, who could stand to gain indirectly from the accelerating expansion of the AI sector.
According to the *Financial Times*, Thrive Holdings’ broader ambition in acquiring companies in IT services and accounting is to overhaul those traditional fields through the application of AI-driven methodologies. A particularly meaningful component of the agreement with OpenAI is that it grants the latter access to data collected from Thrive Holdings’ portfolio firms—a resource of immense value for training and refining large-scale language models. This reciprocal access presents two significant advantages for OpenAI: first, the opportunity to embed its services directly within the operations of Thrive Holdings’ companies, thereby deepening commercial integration; and second, the acquisition of a rich and diverse dataset capable of enhancing the sophistication and adaptability of its models. An individual reportedly close to Thrive Capital indicated that OpenAI may effectively function as the firm’s “research arm,” providing advanced analytics, experimental modeling, and development capabilities that could inform future investment strategies.
Furthermore, the source cited by *FT* disclosed that OpenAI intends to extend this approach more broadly across the private equity sector, suggesting that this partnership might represent only the first step in a larger pattern of AI-augmented finance collaborations. Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, supported this view by remarking that the Thrive agreement could mark the beginning of a new wave of similar arrangements that blend technological innovation with traditional investment structures. By integrating its artificial intelligence systems into the operational and analytical frameworks of private equity firms, OpenAI aims to demonstrate the immediate and long-term impact of AI on decision-making efficiency, cost management, and value creation within complex financial ecosystems.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/news/835453/openai-ownership-thrive-holdings
