OpenAI is in early talks for a secondary share sale that would value the company at $500 billion—nearly double what it was worth when SoftBank led its massive $40 billion round in March. The deal would let current and former employees cash out some of their holdings while the AI leader burns through billions scaling ChatGPT to 700 million weekly users.
Key Points:
- OpenAI's valuation could jump from $300B to $500B in just months
- Company just hit $12B in annual revenue, nearly 2x from early 2025
- Thrive Capital is expected to lead the round
- Employee shares may be part of the sale, as in past tenders
Thrive Capital is reportedly looking to lead the secondary sale, though the whole thing's still early and details could shift. If it goes through at that price, OpenAI would be worth more than all but a handful of companies on the planet—and that's while it's still private.
The eye-popping number makes more sense when you look at OpenAI's trajectory. The company's annualized revenue hit $12 billion in July, roughly double where it started the year. That means they're pulling in about a billion dollars every month from ChatGPT subscriptions, enterprise deals, and API access. Not bad for a product that didn't exist three years ago.
Just last week, OpenAI wrapped up $8.3 billion in fresh commitments from investors including Dragoneer, Altimeter Capital, and D1 Capital Partners. That money's part of the broader $40 billion fundraising effort the company announced in March—the largest private funding round in tech history. The round was five times oversubscribed, with some early investors reportedly getting squeezed on allocations to make room for new strategic partners.
The secondary sale would work differently than that primary fundraising. Instead of money going to OpenAI's coffers, employees and early stakeholders get to sell their shares directly to investors. In past tenders, OpenAI has let eligible employees sell anywhere from $2 million to $10 million worth of stock, with most taking the deal. The last employee sale in January moved $1.5 billion worth of shares.
There's real demand driving these numbers. ChatGPT is on track to hit 700 million weekly active users, up from 500 million in March. The company has 5 million paying business customers, and daily messages on the platform crossed 3 billion. CEO Sam Altman recently noted they added a million users in a single hour—the kind of growth that makes investors reach for their checkbooks.
But running at this scale isn't cheap. OpenAI expects to burn through $8 billion this year, up from earlier projections of $7 billion. That cash goes toward compute costs, talent retention, and the infrastructure needed to stay ahead of rivals like Anthropic (which is raising its own billions at a $170 billion valuation), Google and xAI.
For employees sitting on paper wealth, though, the secondary sale offers something more immediate: actual cash. Given that a majority of eligible employees have sold in previous tenders, expect strong participation if this deal moves forward. At a $500 billion valuation, even small stakes are worth serious money.
The AI gold rush shows no signs of slowing. If anything, the pace is accelerating—OpenAI's valuation has gone from $157 billion last October to potentially $500 billion now. That's more than tripling in less than a year. At this rate, the company's march toward an eventual IPO feels less like a question of if and more like when they'll run out of private capital willing to pay these prices.