# Ex-Anthropic Researchers'  AI Startup Mirendil In Talks to 5x Valuation to $5 Billion

*2026-09-24 06:01 UTC · AI · 1 min read*

> Mirendil, founded by ex-Anthropic researchers to build self-improving AI, is in talks to raise up to $1B at a $5B valuation — 5x its seed round from months earlier.

Mirendil, a startup founded in early 2026 by former Anthropic researchers Behnam Neyshabur and Harsh Mehta, is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in new funding at a roughly $5 billion valuation. Kleiner Perkins is reportedly considering leading the round, with Andreessen Horowitz in discussions to participate — both firms also led Mirendil's earlier $200 million seed round at a $1 billion valuation just months ago.

The company, staffed by roughly 20 researchers pulled from Anthropic, xAI, Google DeepMind and OpenAI, is building AI systems aimed at automating AI research itself — a technique known as recursive self-improvement, where models help train and refine their own successors. Mirendil has not shipped a public product yet and reportedly plans to launch a frontier model for engineering and research work by early 2027, relying on Google Cloud TPUs and Nvidia infrastructure.

The fivefold valuation jump in a matter of months underscores how aggressively investors are chasing labs working on self-improving AI, even before any product has reached the market. Safety remains the central open question: building strong safeguards around systems designed to improve themselves, while still expanding access to the technology beyond the largest labs.

## Sources

- [techfundingnews.com](https://techfundingnews.com/ex-anthropic-researchers-raise-200m-just-weeks-after-quitting-to-build-ai-that-creates-better-ai/)
- [superpowerdaily.com](https://superpowerdaily.com/posts/mirendil-reportedly-seeks-1-billion-at-5-billion-valuation-for-self-improving-ai)
- [pymnts.com](https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/anthropic-alumni-startup-sees-valuation-jump-fivefold/)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2429-ex-anthropic-researchers-ai-startup-mirendil-in-talks-to-5x-valuation-to-5
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2502-ai-startup-mirendil-od-byvalych-vyzkumniku-anthropicu-jedna-o-zvyseni-oceneni