Sam Altman, chief govt officer of OpenAI Inc., throughout a media tour of the Stargate AI information heart in Abilene, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
OpenAI has finalized a secondary share sale totaling $6.6 billion, permitting present and former staff to promote inventory at a report $500 billion valuation, in accordance with an individual accustomed to the transaction.
Bloomberg was first to report that the deal had closed.
CNBC reported in August that OpenAI was seeking to conduct a secondary share sale at a valuation of $500 billion, with buyers together with Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Funding Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Value.
In a press release to CNBC, MGX stated it’s “happy to be a core companion to OpenAI” and appears ahead to persevering with to construct on its “robust relationship as a major investor throughout a number of funding rounds.”
Whereas OpenAI had approved as much as $10.3 billion in shares on the market — a rise from the unique $6 billion goal — solely about two-thirds of that quantity finally modified fingers.
The individual briefed on inner discussions stated that decrease participation is being considered internally as a vote of confidence within the firm’s long-term prospects, and an indication that investor urge for food stays robust, even at a $500 billion valuation — up sharply from $300 billion earlier this 12 months.
The provide was introduced to eligible present and former staff in early September, with participation open to those that had held shares for greater than two years.
The share sale marks OpenAI’s second main tender provide in lower than a 12 months, following a $1.5 billion cope with SoftBank in November.
This newest transaction cements OpenAI’s standing because the world’s most dear privately held firm, surpassing SpaceX’s valuation of $456 billion.
The sale additionally comes amid intensifying competitors for AI expertise. Meta, specifically, has reportedly supplied nine-figure compensation packages in a bid to recruit prime researchers.
OpenAI is amongst a rising cohort of high-profile startups — together with SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks — utilizing secondary gross sales that enable staff to money out whereas staying personal. The transfer is extensively seen as a technique to retain expertise and reward long-term staff with out pursuing an IPO.
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