OpenAI Acquires Neptune to Deepen AI Model Training Tool Portfolio and Enhance Learning Mechanism Insights

November 3,OpenAIOpenAI has announced its acquisition of Neptune, a Polish startup specializing in AI model training tools. The two companies have reached a definitive agreement to complete the acquisition through a stock swap, with some Neptune employees joining OpenAI.

Although OpenAI has not disclosed the specific financial terms of the deal, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the company will complete the acquisition for less than $400 million (approximately RMB 2.829 billion).

Neptune was originally an internal tool developed by Polish AI solutions provider Deepsense. Founded in the United States in 2017 by Piotr Niedźwiedź, it spun off as an independent startup in 2018 and currently employs approximately 60 people.

The company's primary business is providing AI researchers with tools for monitoring, debugging, and evaluating cutting-edge models. Neptune is an observability training platform supporting cloud connectivity and on-premises deployment. It records all metrics (including layer-level metrics) during model training, monitors and debuggs internal model structures, simultaneously tests multiple configurations, and conducts branching experiments.

▲Neptune Platform (Image source: Neptune)

Neptune has officially announced that it now serves over 60,000 research clients, including top-tier AI unicorn OpenAI, global communications giant Samsung, and U.S. IT leader HPE.

▲Neptune's clients (Image source: Neptune)

Nezwiets is the founder, CEO, and CTO of Neptune. He began learning programming at age seven and was a top 30 finalist in Google Code Jam. He holds both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Warsaw in Poland.During his studies, Nezwiecki interned at both Google and Facebook (then Meta). Before completing his master's degree, he co-founded CodiLime, an IT engineering services and software development company, serving as its Chief Technology Officer. He later co-founded Deepsense.

▲Piotr Niedźwiedź

Neptune has completed four rounds of financing,totaling $18.7 million (approximately RMB 132 million). These include a $1.7 million (RMB 12.022 million) pre-seed round in 2018, a $3 million (RMB 21.215 million) seed round in 2019, an $8 million (RMB 56.574 million)and a $600,000 (approximately RMB 42.43 million) follow-on round in 2023.

As the acquisition proceeds, Neptune will retain its tools for internal use by OpenAI and will gradually cease providing services to other clients, including Samsung and HP, with a transition period of three months.

Regarding this, OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki stated: “We plan to collaborate closely with the Neptune team to deeply integrate their tools into our training technology stack, enhancing observability of the model learning process through continuous iteration. Neptune's system is fast and precise, enabling researchers to dissect complex training workflows.”

Conclusion: OpenAI Steps Up Model Training Efforts

AI models are growing increasingly complex, with high training costs and lengthy cycles. The training process not only directly impacts development efficiency and iteration speed, but also determines whether teams can identify critical issues before product release, thereby gaining an edge in fierce market competition.

This year, OpenAI has acquired several companies: In May, it purchased Jony Ive's AI hardware firm io for $6.5 billion (approximately RMB 45.96 billion); in September, it acquired product testing company Statsig for $1.1 billion (approximately RMB 7.78 billion); and in October, it bought small interface startup Software Applications Incorporated for an undisclosed amount.

Facing the challenge of competitors like Google and Anthropic gaining ground, OpenAI is actively expanding its footprint through acquisitions. With this acquisition, OpenAI may aim to further advance its model development and sustain training and iteration of increasingly complex models.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters