OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion after current and former employees sold about $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The valuation represents a steep jump from $300 billion earlier this year, highlighting the company’s rapid expansion in both revenue and user growth. Reuters first reported details of the planned stock sale in August.
The deal involved employees selling shares to a group of investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price, according to the source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. OpenAI had approved secondary-market sales of more than $10 billion worth of stock, the source added.
Thrive, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX, and T. Rowe Price did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sale follows SoftBank’s participation in OpenAI’s earlier $40 billion primary funding round.
OpenAI generated $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, surpassing its full-year total in 2024 by 16%, The Information reported this week.
The transaction comes amid intensifying global competition for artificial intelligence talent, with tech companies offering increasingly lucrative packages. Meta has invested heavily in AI ventures, including Scale AI, and recently hired its 28-year-old founder Alexandr Wang to lead a new super-intelligence division.
