The value placed on startup OpenAI has rocketed to between $80 billion and $90 billion in talks with potential investors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The estimated worth for the company behind generative artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT is nearly triple that of just a year ago, according to the report in the financial daily citing unnamed people familiar with the discussions.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, kicking off an AI race among tech firms.

OpenAI makes money by charging for access to enhanced versions of ChatGPT and licensing the underlying technology to businesses.

The San Francisco-based company this week said it is adding voice and image capabilities to the platform, which was previously limited to written prompts.

Examples of how the new features could be used included taking a photo of the inside of a refrigerator to get meal recipe suggestions, or a picture of a child's math homework to get help solving problems.

Voice and image capabilities are being rolled out to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users over the course of the coming weeks, and are eventually heading for Apple and Google's smartphone operating systems, according to OpenAI.

Generative AI programs burst into the spotlight late last year, with ChatGPT demonstrating an ability to generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest prompts.

Tech titans Google, Meta and Microsoft are among those racing to capitalize on the promise of generative AI while trying to avoid perils such as the technology's potential as a weapon for misinformation and cybercrime.