SAN FRANCISCO, US – OpenAI, the company behind the widely popular ChatGPT, has reached a staggering valuation of $500 billion, following a deal in which current and former employees sold approximately $6.6 billion worth of shares. A source familiar with the matter provided the details to Reuters on Thursday.
This new figure represents a massive leap from the company’s previous valuation of $300 billion, underscoring OpenAI’s exceptionally rapid gains in both its user base and revenue generation.
As part of the deal, OpenAI employees sold shares to a consortium of high-profile investors, including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also noted that the company had authorized sales of over $10 billion worth of stock on the secondary market. SoftBank’s participation in this share sale adds to its previous investment in OpenAI’s $40 billion primary funding round.
The company’s financial performance reflects its soaring market valuation. The Information reported earlier this week that OpenAI generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, which is roughly 16% more than the company generated during the entire previous year.
This significant secondary share sale comes at a moment of intense competition in the tech sector, as giants battle aggressively for top AI talent with increasingly lucrative compensation packages. Notably, Meta is investing billions into Scale AI and recently poached its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead its new super intelligence unit. The huge valuation leap for OpenAI highlights the sheer scale of the financial activity and the escalating demand for top talent within the burgeoning AI industry.
