According to people familiar with the matter, OpenAI is in early-stage talks about a potential employee stock sale that could value the company at approximately $500 billion. This represents a staggering increase in the value of the AI leader.
Several anonymous sources familiar with the matter said the company is planning a multi-billion dollar secondary stock offering. Existing investors, including Thrive Capital, have approached OpenAI about acquiring some employee shares.
If the deal goes through, OpenAI's book value would increase by approximately two-thirds from its previous $300 billion valuation when SoftBank Group led a $40 billion funding round, firmly placing it among the world's largest private companies.
This latest development follows last week's news that the company had already secured an oversubscribed $8.3 billion in funding from a consortium of investors, according to a person familiar with the matter. This funding represents the second tranche of a $40 billion funding round, with subscriptions exceeding expectations by about five times.
Top US startups often use employee stock ownership transactions as an incentive. Sources familiar with the matter say OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, is attempting to capitalize on investor demand by offering employees a liquidity package that reflects the company's growth.
In recent months, several OpenAI researchers have been poached by Meta Platforms, which, in its quest to build a "superintelligent" AI team, has offered nine-figure packages to talent from competitors like Apple. This employee stock sale may be a key step in OpenAI's talent retention efforts.
OpenAI, which ushered in a new era of AI with ChatGPT, has recently released a series of major technological achievements. Following the global attention garnered by China's DeepSeek's open-source AI software, it has released two open models that simulate human reasoning. It is preparing to release GPT-5 to consolidate its competitive advantage. ChatGPT's weekly active users are expected to reach 700 million this week (a significant increase from 500 million at the end of March), with daily message processing exceeding 3 billion. In May, it announced plans to acquire the AI device company co-founded by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive for nearly $65 billion in an all-stock transaction, jointly expanding into the hardware market.
OpenAI also faces numerous challenges. The company is currently engaged in separate negotiations regarding its future as a for-profit company, which have been ongoing for months.
Microsoft, which invested approximately $13.75 billion in OpenAI and holds rights to its intellectual property, has been the biggest naysayer among investors in the ChatGPT developer. The issue lies with Microsoft's stake in the newly formed company.
The talks have since expanded into a renegotiation of the relationship, with Microsoft seeking to avoid abruptly losing access to the startup's technology before the end of the current agreement, which expires in 2030.