OpenAI Acquires Software Testing Startup Statsig for $1.1 Billion and Establishes New Role for Its CEO

OpenAI today announced the acquisition of Statsig in a deal valued at $1.1 billion. This transaction goes beyond talent acquisition, aiming to integrate the technology of this product testing startup into OpenAI’s infrastructure. As part of the agreement, Vijaye Raji, Statsig’s founder and CEO (pictured), who previously worked as a software engineer at Meta Platforms, will join OpenAI as the newly appointed Chief Technology Officer for Applications. He will report directly to Fidji Simo, who joined OpenAI earlier this year as the CEO of Applications from Instacart. “We are acquiring Statsig, one of the most trusted experimentation platforms in the industry, which provides A/B testing, feature flagging, and real-time decision support for some of the world’s most innovative companies, including OpenAI,” the company stated in an official announcement. The $1.1 billion price tag aligns with Statsig’s recent post-money valuation following a $100 million funding round. The lack of a premium paid suggests confidence from Statsig and its investors in OpenAI’s continued growth and value creation. Although regulatory approvals are required, the deal is expected to proceed smoothly. Upon completion, Statsig will continue to operate independently from its Seattle headquarters, serving existing clients including OpenAI. Employees will have the option to transition to OpenAI or remain with Statsig. Founded in 2021, Statsig assists clients like OpenAI in testing new software features with specific user groups and collecting feedback to determine whether features should be adjusted, launched as-is, or scrapped entirely. The startup currently employs around 155 people and previously announced plans to expand the team to about 200 by the end of 2026, though it remains unclear whether this plan will continue. Raji previously made headlines by enforcing a relatively rare policy—requiring all employees to work in-office five days a week. He claims this no-remote policy fosters a culture of greater collaboration, speed, and innovation. “Partnering with the amazing team at OpenAI to build AI-powered experiences for people and businesses at scale is a rare and meaningful opportunity,” Raji wrote in a blog post. “Being able to use the tools we built at Statsig to help achieve that goal is an added bonus.” S. “Soma” Somasegar, managing director at Madrona Ventures and an early investor in Statsig, wrote in his own blog post that the startup fits well with OpenAI due to its “world-class product speed” and relentless focus on helping clients. He added that Statsig’s data-driven approach helped it become one of the leading companies in smart application design and expressed confidence that OpenAI will help it “expand its impact while staying true to its mission.” Earlier this March, OpenAI itself completed a much larger funding round, raising $4 billion to reach an impressive $300 billion valuation. The AI giant quickly began deploying the capital. Just two months later in May, it acquired Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup, IO Products, for approximately $6.4 billion, to support its efforts in “creating a new generation of AI-powered computers.” It is also reported that OpenAI had expressed interest in acquiring generative AI coding startup Windsurf for around $3 billion, though negotiations reportedly fell apart. Shortly after, in July, Google LLC successfully brought on Windsurf co-founders Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen into its AI team under a $2.4 billion technology licensing deal. Days later, another AI coding startup, Cognition AI, swiftly acquired Windsurf—without the co-founders.