OpenAI acquires Statsig for $1.1B to strengthen product development; CEO Vijaye Raji named tech chief

OpenAI is keeping its foot on the gas. The company announced Tuesday that it has acquired Statsig, a Seattle-based product development startup, in a $1.1 billion deal.

Statsig, best known for helping companies test new features and run real-time data experiments, will continue to operate independently. But the deal has a bigger twist: Statsig co-founder and CEO Vijaye Raji is stepping into OpenAI as technology chief for its applications unit, reporting directly to Fidji Simo, the former Instacart chief executive who joined OpenAI earlier this year.

“Working with the incredible team at OpenAI to build AI-powered experiences at scale for people and businesses is a rare and meaningful opportunity,” Raji said in a post on LinkedIn. “Doing that with the help of tools we built at Statsig makes it even more special.”

For OpenAI, the acquisition is another sign of its willingness to spend big as it races to expand beyond its flagship models. The company has a deep war chest, and it has been writing large checks with increasing frequency. Its splashiest deal came in May when it bought Jony Ive’s AI devices startup, IO, for nearly $6.5 billion in stock, planting its flag in hardware.

OpenAI Continues Buying Spree With $1.1B Acqusition of Product Development Startup for Statsig

Before that, OpenAI picked up analytics database firm Rockset. In May, the maker of ChatGPT came close to acquiring Windsurf, an AI coding tool, in a deal that would have been worth $3 billion. That one fell through, with Google swooping in instead on a $2.4 billion licensing arrangement.

OpenAI says Statsig will keep serving its existing customers from its Seattle headquarters while layering its expertise into OpenAI’s push to build consumer and business-facing applications.

Simo, who now oversees that side of the business, praised Raji’s track record. “Vijaye has a remarkable record of building new consumer and B2B products and systems at scale. He’s joining at a time when our models are opening entirely new ways to build, and his leadership will help turn that progress into safe applications that empower people with many new tools to improve their lives, help companies increase their impact and allow developers to build faster and better products,” Simo said in a post.

For Raji, the move closes a chapter on a startup that grew into a trusted platform for product testing. “The journey with Statsig has been deeply gratifying, leading me to this moment and giving me conviction that we will continue helping teams ship better software every day,” he said.

The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, but it’s another clear signal of where OpenAI is headed: betting big on people, tools, and infrastructure to solidify its position at the center of AI applications.