OPENAI has acquired Return, a personal finance application driven by AI, with the startup’s CEO joining the company as the sole member from the team. This acquisition reflects OpenAI’s ongoing trend of Acqui-Hire initiatives throughout the year.
Unique Acquisition Strategy
Sujith Vishwajith, the CEO and co-founder of Return, announced the acquisition last Friday. As reported by TechCrunch, Vishwajith is the only member from the four-person team at Return to transition to OpenAI.
Details regarding the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed; however, Return is set to cease operations on October 15. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Benzinga.
Financial Overview
Founded in 2022 and based in New York, Return raised $3.6 million from notable investors, including Balaji Srinivasan, Sparkling Capital, and Degraded Ventures, according to PitchBook. The application aimed to help users track and manage their financial portfolios, encompassing stocks, cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance (DeFi), real estate, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Vishwajith expressed on social media, “We started Return three years ago to make investing accessible to everyone by creating the most personalized financial experience. We realized that personalization is not just the future of finance; it’s the future of software.”
Consumer-Centric Strategy
This acquisition follows OpenAI’s purchases of companies such as Context.a, Crossing Minds, and Alex earlier this year. The consumer team at OpenAI, led by former Instacart CEO Fiji Simo, has successfully launched innovative products like Pulse for personalized news and Instantable for seamless shopping experiences.
In July, OpenAI completed a remarkable $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup, continually expanding its footprint in the tech landscape.
Focus on Revenue Generation
Before founding Return, Vishwajith held a position at Airbnb, where he implemented a 25-line code change that generated over $10 million in additional revenue. This experience underscores the importance of innovative thinking and consumer-driven strategies as OpenAI aims to bolster revenue.
Generating income is crucial for OpenAI, especially as the company looks to maintain its financial viability while continuing to invest heavily in infrastructure, with expenses projected to reach $400 billion by 2029.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially generated using AI tools and has been reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.