OpenAI has recently been making moves in the mergers and acquisitions space. After acquiring Rockset, a database tech firm, the company has now purchased Multi, formerly known as Remotion. Multi is a startup that has been working on developing a video-first collaboration platform focused on enterprise needs. The deal between OpenAI and Multi is being described as an acqui-hire, with most of Multi’s team, consisting of around five people, expected to join OpenAI after the deal is finalized.
Alexander Embiricos, the CEO of Multi and one of its co-founders, announced that Multi will be shutting down after July 24. He expressed his excitement about the acquisition in a blog post, thanking all the users of Multi for their support and feedback. Embiricos, who previously worked at Dropbox, along with Charley Ho, a former Google software engineer and Multi’s second co-founder, had set out to create a platform that would allow remote teams to collaborate through video chats. Multi offered various features such as the ability to collaborate across screen shares with up to 10 people simultaneously, customizable shortcuts, and automatic deep links for code, designs, and documents.
Prior to being acquired by OpenAI, Multi had raised $13 million in funding from venture capital firms like Greylock and First Round Capital. This acquisition of Multi aligns with OpenAI’s recent focus on investing in enterprise solutions. The company has been expanding its offerings in the corporate sector, with its AI-powered chatbot platform, ChatGPT, gaining popularity among users, including 93% of Fortune 500 companies.
In addition to the Multi acquisition, OpenAI has been making strategic moves to cater to the business market. The company has partnered with PwC to distribute its tools to other businesses and has launched a program for custom AI model tuning and consulting services geared towards enterprises. These efforts seem to be paying off, with OpenAI’s revenue projected to surpass $3.4 billion this year.
Given OpenAI’s track record of focusing on corporate products, it is not far-fetched to imagine a future where an enhanced version of ChatGPT incorporates videoconferencing and remote collaboration features. As OpenAI continues to innovate and evolve its offerings, the integration of such capabilities into its flagship models could be a natural progression for the company.
