Mirendil was in talks on 22 September to raise funding at a $5 billion valuation, five times the value of its seed round three months earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Key points
- Kleiner Perkins is in talks to lead financing that could provide Mirendil with up to $1 billion in new capital.
- Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz led a $200 million seed round at a $1 billion valuation three months earlier.
- Mirendil plans to launch a model for engineering and research work by the beginning of 2027.
Kleiner Perkins returns to Mirendil talks
Kleiner Perkins is discussing a lead role in the proposed round, which could bring Mirendil up to $1 billion in new capital. Andreessen Horowitz is also in discussions to invest. Both firms led Mirendil’s $200 million seed financing three months earlier, when the startup was valued at $1 billion.
The proposed $5 billion valuation includes the new investment. The amount Mirendil could raise remains a possibility in the talks, rather than a completed financing. Its existing backers would be putting more money behind a company whose planned model has a launch target at the beginning of next year.
Mirendil has more than 20 staffers. Former Anthropic researchers started the company with the aim of developing AI models that can improve themselves with little or no human help. Its proposed financing would pay for the launch of its own model and training of later versions.
Those plans put the cost of model development at the centre of the funding discussions. Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz backed Mirendil at its seed valuation. The new round, if completed on the terms under discussion, would attach a higher price to the company before its planned model launch.
Mirendil targets engineering and research work
According to people familiar with the plan, Mirendil aims to release a frontier model for use in engineering and research by the start of 2027. The company’s approach is known as recursive self-improvement: using AI systems to carry out work involved in developing AI systems.
Mirendil says its goal is to make advanced AI research capabilities widely accessible. On its website, the company argues that labs seeking to use AI in fields including chemistry, biology and robotics currently face the expense and specialist demands of developing frontier AI themselves, Bloomberg reported.
Established developers are also using AI in their own development work. Anthropic has said its Claude chatbot handles more than a quarter of the company’s AI research and development work. OpenAI uses its Codex coding technology to automate parts of its software and model development.
Mirendil’s planned model is aimed at the same broad category of work, though its stated ambition is to develop models that improve themselves with little human input. The new capital under discussion would fund both an initial launch and further training, making the proposed round part of a continuing development programme rather than a single product release.
Thinking Machines Lab offers another funding comparison
Other AI research startups have also sought large rounds. According to PYMNTS, Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, was discussing funding of no less than $1 billion at a valuation of no less than $40 billion. Periodic Labs, a startup focused on scientific discovery, has been valued at roughly $1.3 billion.
Like Mirendil, those companies have attracted financing attention for research plans. Mirendil’s proposed round would bring back the two firms that led its seed financing. The startup declined to comment on the talks, Bloomberg reported.
