OpenAI is in early talks about a secondary stock sale that would allow current and former employees to sell their shares, aiming for a valuation near $500 billion. This represents a significant jump from the previous report’s valuation of $300 billion.
The company secured $8.3 billion in new funding earlier this week at a $300 billion valuation. Investors such as Thrive Capital are exploring the purchase of employee-held shares in OpenAI’s secondary stock sale, but details remain private.
If the deal moves forward, it would boost OpenAI’s valuation by about two-thirds from its earlier mark. This would cement the company’s position as one of the world’s most highly valued private companies.
OpenAI’s main product, ChatGPT, recently crossed 700 million weekly users, up from 500 million in March. The company’s annual revenue also reached $12 billion, more than double the $5.5 billion reported in December 2024.
However, OpenAI’s rapid growth is leading to higher expenses. The company now expects to spend $8 billion in 2025, about $1 billion more than earlier estimates. This cost increase is largely due to infrastructure building, including renting computer chips and setting up data centers for its expanding AI models.
For those interested in investing in OpenAI, it remains a private company that doesn’t offer its shares to the public. However, investors can consider other major AI-related stocks using TipRanks’ stock comparison tool.
Source: https://www.tipranks.com/news/chatgpt-maker-openai-seeks-500b-valuation-in-share-sale