Applied Compute, a reinforcement learning startup founded by three former OpenAI employees, has raised $20 million in funding at a $100 million valuation. The pre-launch company, led by founders Rhythm Garg, Linden Li, and Yash Patil, secured the investment in a round led by Benchmark. The funding will likely be used to further develop their reinforcement learning technology and prepare for a public launch. This significant valuation highlights the continued investor interest in AI and machine learning startups, particularly those with ties to established companies like OpenAI.