Sam Altman OpenAI in Talks to Sell Staff Shares and Hit 500 Billion Valuation

TLDR

• OpenAI employees may sell $6 billion in shares to SoftBank, Thrive, and Dragoneer.

• The secondary sale could value OpenAI at $500 billion, higher than SpaceX.

• OpenAI raised $40 billion in March led by SoftBank at a $300 billion valuation.

• GPT-5 launch and growing adoption could boost OpenAI’s projected revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025.

OpenAI is in discussions to sell $6 billion worth of shares owned by current and former employees. If completed, the transaction could value the AI company at $500 billion, surpassing Elon Musk’s SpaceX as the most valuable privately held firm.

The talks involve investors including SoftBank, Thrive Capital, and Dragoneer Investment Group. The proposed structure is a secondary market sale, allowing employees to cash out without the company going public. The details of the transaction are still being finalized and could change.

OpenAI has experienced rapid valuation growth, rising from $157 billion in October to $300 billion in March. That March funding round, led mainly by SoftBank, committed $40 billion, with $30 billion still pending delivery before year-end.

Investor interest in AI startups has surged this year. Venture capital funding reached $129 billion through August, up from $106 billion for all of 2024, signaling strong confidence in AI technologies and startups like OpenAI.

GPT-5 Launch and Revenue Projections

OpenAI launched GPT-5 recently, a model with advanced capabilities in coding, math, writing, health, and visual perception.

The company expects the launch to drive adoption and revenue growth, projecting a tripling of revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025.

Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, said the new model will improve task handling with minimal latency and allow seamless mode switching. The company briefly removed GPT-4 during GPT-5’s rollout but restored it after user feedback.

OpenAI Corporate Structure and Legal Challenges

OpenAI operates under a unique structure combining nonprofit and for-profit elements. The company has been adjusting its corporate model to potentially allow a public offering.

Elon Musk, a co-founder who now leads xAI, has filed a lawsuit to block OpenAI’s restructuring. Attorneys general in California and Delaware are monitoring the company’s changes. OpenAI stated its mission is to develop AI for humanity’s benefit, not for financial gain.

Altman confirmed plans to support a brain-computer interface startup, which could compete with Musk’s Neuralink. OpenAI is exploring hardware, AI-powered platforms, and social network development.

The company continues to face competition from Google, Microsoft, and other tech giants investing heavily in AI research and infrastructure. OpenAI’s moves reflect its strategy to maintain leadership in artificial intelligence while enabling employees to realize value from their equity holdings.

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