OpenAI to Allow Employee Stock Sales at a $500 Billion Valuation

OpenAI employee stock sale valuation is expected to reach $500 billion, as the company navigates early-stage talks for a secondary share sale aimed at current and former employees. This move would mark a sharp increase from its last known valuation of $300 billion and further cement OpenAI’s position at the top of global private tech firms

🔍 What Is Happening & Why It Matters

• OpenAI is in advanced discussions to enable employees to sell several billion dollars worth of shares to existing investors, effectively enabling stock liquidity before any initial public offering (IPO)
• If successful, the deal would value OpenAI at around $500 billion, surpassing SpaceX’s estimated valuation of around $400 billion, making it the most valuable private startup in history

📈 Growth & Financial Backdrop

• In April 2025, OpenAI raised $40 billion at a $300 billion valuation, led by SoftBank and backed by investors such as Thrive Capital, Dragoneer, Andreessen Horowitz, and Blackstone
• Since the start of the year, annual recurring revenue (ARR) has doubled from $12 billion to an expected $20 billion by year-end, supported by a weekly active user base of about 700 million on ChatGPT and related products

🧠 Strategic Implications for Employees & Investors

• This secondary share sale provides a rare liquidity event for both current and former employees, addressing limitations from prior internal caps and valuation-related uncertainties
• Institutional investors like Thrive Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, and others are reportedly interested in acquiring employee-held shares, signaling strong confidence in OpenAI’s long-term potential
• For OpenAI, monetizing employee equity without diluting ownership or going public opens flexible governance and growth options while retaining control.

🎯 What Makes This Move Significant

• Unprecedented private valuation: $500B would outrank nearly all private companies globally.
• Employee empowerment: By enabling liquidity, OpenAI addresses frustrations about illiquid stock and retention challenges amid fierce competition in the AI labor market.
• Governance evolution: The move ties into broader structural changes, including OpenAI’s plans to migrate its for-profit arm to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)—a hybrid model blending nonprofit oversight with equity-based operations

🔮 What’s Next

• A formal secondary tender offer could launch within weeks or months, depending on regulatory approvals and negotiation progress.
• OpenAI may maintain its private status for longer, even as it explores an eventual IPO when market conditions are favorable. CFO Sarah Friar has emphasized that an IPO will proceed only when both the company and capital markets are ready
• The transaction is expected to reshape employee compensation norms and influence liquidity frameworks across the entire private tech ecosystem.

🧾 Summary at a Glance