Thinking Machines Lab CEO Has Unusual Control in Andreessen-Led Deal

It’s common nowadays for founders of hot startups to hold special shares that give them more voting power than most investors. But Mira Murati, a former OpenAI chief technology officer who is now a founder and the CEO of artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab, may exert an unusual level of control even by those standards.

Murati has told potential investors the startup is close to raising $2 billion, at a $10 billion valuation, from investors led by Andreessen Horowitz. Included in the terms of that investment are provisions giving Murati a board vote that holds the same weight as all the other board directors’ votes plus one, according to documents shared with potential investors.