OpenAI has recently acquired Rockset, a company known for developing tools that drive real-time search and data analytics. This strategic acquisition aims to integrate Rockset’s technology into OpenAI’s existing infrastructure, enhancing various OpenAI products. OpenAI will integrate Rockset’s team members, and Rockset will gradually transition its current customers off the platform. The parties did not disclose the financial details of the acquisition.
OpenAI’s COO, Brad Lightcap, emphasized the benefits of Rockset’s infrastructure, which empowers companies to convert their data into actionable intelligence. By integrating Rockset’s foundation, OpenAI aims to provide these advantages to its customers, boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of its AI products.
Rockset Founding and Achievements
Rockset was co-founded in 2016 by ex-Facebook engineers Venkat Venkataramani and Tudor Bosman, along with database architect Dhruba Borthakur. The company developed tools that allow automatic data ingestion from databases and public cloud storage services, indexing this data for search and analytics applications. This technology additionally supports various applications, including recommendation engines, logistics-tracking dashboards, and chatbots in fintech and e-commerce.
Before the acquisition, Rockset raised over $117.5 million from investors such as Icon Ventures, Sequoia, and Greylock. Its notable clients included Meta and JetBlue, which used Rockset to power their flight delay predictions chatbot.
OpenAI plans to leverage Rockset’s technology to enable companies to better utilize their data and access real-time information through OpenAI products. This integration could therefore lead to improved tools for grounding OpenAI’s models on a company’s data, reducing hallucinations, and fine-tuning models for various business applications.
Venkat Venkataramani, co-founder of Rockset, highlighted the potential of advanced retrieval infrastructure like Rockset to enhance AI applications. By becoming part of OpenAI, Rockset will contribute to solving complex database problems at scale, thereby powering the retrieval infrastructure for OpenAI’s product suite.
This acquisition aligns with OpenAI’s broader strategy of heavily investing in its enterprise sales and technology organizations. In May, OpenAI signed an agreement with PwC to resell its tools to other businesses. Additionally, the company launched a custom model tuning and consulting program aimed at business-oriented clients.
Revenue Growth and Market Penetration
These strategic moves have significantly boosted OpenAI’s revenue, which is projected to surpass $3.4 billion annually. The enterprise tier of OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot platform, ChatGPT, now boasts nearly 600,000 users, including 93% of all Fortune 500 companies.
Rockset marks OpenAI’s second public acquisition. The first was Global Illumination, a New York-based startup that used AI to develop creative tools and infrastructure.
By acquiring Rockset, OpenAI aims to enhance its enterprise AI capabilities, enabling clients to better leverage their data and access real-time information. This move is part of OpenAI’s broader strategy to expand its enterprise offerings and maintain its position as a leading AI technology provider.
See also: Dot AI Aims To Be Your Virtual Companion
