SAN FRANCISCO: Current and former OpenAI employees are in talks to sell nearly $6 billion worth of shares to investors including SoftBank Group and Thrive Capital.
The deal could value the ChatGPT maker at $500 billion, a significant jump from its current $300 billion valuation.
This reflects OpenAI’s rapid growth in users and revenue, as well as fierce competition in the AI sector.
SoftBank, Thrive Capital, and Dragoneer Investment Group, all existing OpenAI investors, have not yet commented on the potential transaction.
Bloomberg News reported discussions are in early stages, with the final sale size subject to change.
The secondary share sale follows SoftBank’s involvement in OpenAI’s $40 billion primary funding round.
OpenAI’s revenue doubled in the first seven months of 2025, hitting an annualized $12 billion run rate.
The company is projected to reach $20 billion in revenue by year-end, driven by ChatGPT’s success.
Microsoft-backed OpenAI now boasts 700 million weekly ChatGPT users, up from 400 million in February. – Reuters
