AI Startup Arda, Founded by Former OpenAI Research Head, Raises $230 Million and Reaches $1.5 Billion Valuation
According to CNBC, Arda, an AI manufacturing startup founded by former OpenAI research chief and ex-Palantir head of product and engineering Bob McGrew, has announced the completion of a $230 million funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Altimeter Capital, Accel, and Khosla Ventures. Arda develops AI software and agents for manufacturing engineers, helping them build and adjust assembly lines faster.
Its AI models have been deployed at defense technology company Anduril. McGrew noted that when product designs change, it takes just one day to retrain workers, whereas adjusting automated production lines typically requires three to six months. Arda runs its software using a combination of proprietary, open-source, and select frontier models, with robotics set to be included in its next product roadmap. Co-founders include Augustus Odena, Alex Mark, and Jakob Frick. Apoorv Agrawal of Altimeter stated that the global manufacturing industry amounts to $16 trillion, with approximately $3 trillion in the United States. McGrew joined OpenAI in 2017 and departed in 2024.