OpenAI is significantly expanding its presence in the Seattle region with its $1.1 billion acquisition of product development platform Statsig.
The ChatGPT maker announced Tuesday that it plans to acquire the Bellevue, Wash.-based startup.
Statsig, which employs more than 100 people in the Seattle area, will continue to operate independently from its Bellevue office. All of Statsig’s employees are expected to have the option to transition to OpenAI.
OpenAI, which is based in San Francisco, said in October that it had opened an office in Bellevue — establishing a physical presence near its close partner Microsoft while tapping into the region’s robust engineering talent pool.
OpenAI declined to provide an updated headcount for its Seattle-area workforce. It has about 169 employees in the region, according to LinkedIn.
S. “Soma” Somasegar, managing director at Seattle venture firm Madrona — an early investor in Statsig — said OpenAI’s acquisition reflects the strength of Seattle’s tech clout.
“They understand as much as anybody else the talent density we have,” he said of OpenAI.
The company has 18 open jobs based in Seattle, according to its jobs page.
OpenAI is among more than 100 companies that operate satellite engineering offices in the Seattle region, known as a major hub for AI with Microsoft and Amazon’s headquarters, as well as large outposts for Meta, Google, Alphabet, and other Silicon Valley giants.
Seattle has the most AI engineers in the U.S. behind Silicon Valley, according to a report last year from venture capital firm SignalFire.
Related coverage:
- OpenAI acquires Statsig for $1.1B, names CEO to key role in surprise exit for Seattle-area unicorn
- A list of Seattle-area engineering centers
- Can Seattle own the AI era? We asked 20 investors and founders to weigh the city’s startup potential
- Seattle is a global AI hub — but where are the superstar startups?
Read the full article here
