OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saves startup Rad AI by sending a six-figure loan to make payroll after SVB collapse
Per Business Insider
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has resulted in certain startups struggling to make payroll. Rad AI is one of those startups, and its CEO, Doktor Gurson, emailed OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman to ask for financial assistance, which resulted in Altman extending a six-figure loan.
Gurson told Reuters how Altman responded to his email within just two hours with an offer. It was noted that OpenAI's CEO said that Gurson could repay the amount when he could.
Jack Altman, the brother of Sam Altman, recently tweeted out how the OpenAI CEO was helping startups by sending money with no documents, saying they only need to pay him back when they can. OpenAI is the company behind the famous ChatGPT AI tool.
Jack Altman: "Sam has been sending stuck startups money today with no docs, just saying 'send me back whatever you can whenever you can'. What a legend,"
Another company, Brex, which is a fintech startup, announced that it would assist other struggling startups. It was shared that requests worth $1.5 billion were made by around 1,000 companies this weekend, according to co-CEO Henrique Dubugras.
Altman gave a statement to Reuters regarding how employees needed to be paid amid the situation. It was also highlighted that people were experiencing a liquidity crunch and that it wasn't their fault.
Altman: "Even if SVB can't find a buyer or a loan over the weekend, a lot of the money startups have on deposit will be made available to them,"
Amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the FDIC found that by the end of 2022, US banks had a total of $620 billion in unrealized losses. Should these assets be sold, these losses would actualize.
"The Bear Trap Reports" founder, Larry McDonald, believes that the situation would result in the Federal Reserve having to cut back rates by 100 basis points to avoid the financial system collapsing.
See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.
Other News:
- US banks had unrealized losses worth $620 billion by the end of 2022, per FDIC
- 'The Bear Traps Report' founder says Silicon Valley Bank crisis could result in Feds slashing 100 basis points from rates
Resources:
Jack Altman on Twitter