OpenAI just turbocharged its employee stock sale, jumping from $6 billion to a staggering $10.3 billion at a $500 billion valuation. The move gives current and former employees their biggest liquidity event yet, while signaling the ChatGPT maker's confidence in its sky-high worth ahead of any potential IPO.
OpenAI just handed its employees a $4.3 billion surprise, expanding what was already the AI sector's largest secondary stock sale to a record-breaking $10.3 billion. The move comes as the ChatGPT maker continues trading at a mind-bending $500 billion valuation—nearly double its $300 billion price tag from earlier this year.
The timing couldn't be more strategic. According to CNBC sources familiar with the offering, OpenAI presented the expanded deal to employees on Wednesday, giving staffers who've held shares for more than two years until September's end to cash in on the AI gold rush. The transaction is set to close in October, assuming employee demand matches the company's bullish expectations.
SoftBank is leading the charge again, joined by heavy hitters including Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund MGX, and T. Rowe Price. It's the same investment consortium that's been betting big on OpenAI's trajectory, with SoftBank alone pumping $1.5 billion into a similar employee tender offer last November.
The secondary sale surge reflects a broader trend among Silicon Valley's most valuable private companies. SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks have all turned to periodic employee stock sales as a pressure valve, allowing early employees and founding team members to capture gains without forcing the company into a premature IPO.
For OpenAI, the strategy serves a dual purpose: keeping talent incentivized while maintaining private company flexibility during the most explosive period in AI history. The company's valuation has skyrocketed from $80 billion in early 2023 to today's half-trillion-dollar mark, driven by ChatGPT's mainstream adoption and enterprise AI contracts.
"The scale of this offering tells you everything about OpenAI's confidence in its market position," said one venture capital source who requested anonymity. "They're essentially saying 'we don't need to go public anytime soon' while giving employees a massive payday."
The expanded sale also signals OpenAI's preparation for intensifying competition. Google recently faced antitrust challenges that could reshape the AI landscape, while —OpenAI's largest partner—continues integrating AI across its product suite. and are pouring billions into their own AI initiatives, making talent retention increasingly expensive.
